Rangers still paying the price of the EBT years...
BRUISED BOSS CAIXINHA LIMPS ON AFTER HUMILIATION IN LUXEMBOURG
WHEN Berwick Rangers sent shockwaves across the world by defeating their Glasgow namesake in 1967, the consequences were drastic and long-lasting.
In an act of summary justice meted out by manager Scot Symon, neither George McLean nor Jim Forrest ever played for Rangers again. To this day, many argue the decision cost the club their chance of beating Bayern Munich in the European Cup Winners’ Cup final four months later.
Half a century on, only the infancy of Pedro Caixinha’s project will prevent the Portuguese and his players from suffering a similar fate.
Put simply, as catastrophic and humiliating as the aggregate loss to Progres Niederkorn was, the manager’s paymasters have invested too much faith and money in him to reach for the panic button at this juncture. For the time being, he’ll limp on.
What’s beyond dispute, though, is the enormous reputational damage caused by a nightmarish night in Luxembourg.
Even 50 years on from that dark day at Shielfield Park, the psychological scars of those involved have never truly healed.
Similarly, irrespective of what happens in their careers from this moment on, the players and staff of Rangers who presided over a result which in many ways eclipses Berwick will forever be synonymous with Niederkorn.
When the final whistle blew inside the Stade Josy Barthel, the first reaction among the visiting players and supporters was understandably one of shock.
The previous day, Caixinha (right) had described such an outcome against a side ranked 436th by UEFA as ‘unthinkable’. He freely admitted he was already planning for AEL Limassol in the next round. Around 1,000 Rangers fans who had already made travel plans for Cyprus evidently shared his optimism.
Even their hosts had not contemplated such an outcome. Why should they? In 13 previous European matches, they had never won. A goal difference of scored one, conceded 41, betrayed their status as no-hopers. A pick ‘n’ mix team of postmen, accountants and estate agents by day. Fourth in their own league last season. The minnow of minnows. ‘After last week it’s virtually certain that Rangers FC will also play the second qualifying round,’ read the match programme notes. ‘Today we play our 14th European game and we should be honest that Rangers FC is just too strong.’ As the Rangers players walked almost trance-like towards the tunnel after the 2-0 loss, some applauded the visiting support out of sheer habit. Few huddled in the far corner of the ground, who had made their first European trip in six years, were in the mood to reciprocate. Half an hour later, as the enormity of what transpired began to dawn, matters turned ugly. Several hundred fans made their way round the entrance to vent their spleens at those who had mortified them. Audible from deep inside the concourse, no one was spared the vicious opprobrium. Cries of ‘out, out, out’ accompanied Caixinha as he made his way to the bus. The manager’s attempts to placate the masses by engaging with them, bizarrely while standing in a bush, cut no ice. It was a deeply unedifying scene. One that neither the manager nor his players will forget in a hurry. If there were some among them who did not previously appreciate the expectations of playing with a club like Rangers, rest assured, they now do so. Absolutely no argument could be offered in mitigation. The old chestnut about Scottish teams being illprepared at this juncture didn’t wash. Niederkorn have not started their own domestic season either. Neither was the fact Caixinha’s Rangers are in transition in any way admissible. He fielded six players who were not at his club last season. His opposite number, Paulo Amodio, had seven.
Rangers simply looked listless and devoid of any semblance of guile. Charly Schinkel, the Progres goalkeeper, appeared as a substitute in the 33rd minute yet did not make a save of note. Did the Ibrox men simply underestimate their opponents?
‘I don’t think that is the case,’ insisted midfielder Jordan Rossiter. ‘There are no words for it and no excuses. We need to be better and be good enough. I can’t apologise to the fans enough.’
In fairness, Caixinha in no way tried to sugarcoat what had unfolded so horrifically before his eyes, either. Conceding that it was the worst result of his career, he vowed to make amends in time.
Many will grant him that opportunity but there are others who have already seen enough. A 5-1 humiliation at home to Celtic. Aberdeen’s first Ibrox win in 26 years. And now Niederkorn. All under the watch of a man who targeted a European trophy at his unveiling in March.
Whatever the private thoughts of the men who appointed him, there is no question of Caixinha being jettisoned just four months later.
Notwithstanding the fact he has been hired on a lucrative three-year contract, Rangers have spent around £7m on nine players on his say so and shown three the door. The faith invested in him is enormous. To concede defeat at this early stage is unthinkable. The pertinent question is where he and his players go from here.
Defeat to Niederkorn means there are 31 long days before they travel to face Motherwell on August 6. Even with a plethora of hastily arranged bounce games, it’s far from ideal preparation.
By that date, Caixinha has to oversee a metamorphosis of the side. Like his chairman, Dave King, he bullishly talks the talk. Of European glory. Of his side being the best in the land. Of the benefits of banishing green boots. Yet, to date, there has been little by way of action.
As the players awaited their flight home amid a funereal atmosphere, it was instructive to see the various factions. A group of Scots sat together. The last of the Mark Warburton signings in another corner.
The Mexican pair, Carlos Pena and Eduardo Herrera, keeping their own company. A picture of togetherness in times of trouble, it was not.
In the meantime, they all share but one common bond. Something that will always bind them together for all time — the men responsible for the worst result in Rangers’ history.