Could this be the return of winter blues for Rangers?

THE insipid mess witnessed at Celtic Park suggested Giovanni van Bronckhorst is still grasping to find a tactical identity for his Rangers tenure.

Questions about what kind of team the Dutchman actually wants to create are now being asked at volume by worried supporters. Answers will need to be forthcoming in Sunday’s home meeting with Hearts.

An attacking line-up was picked for Parkhead, yet Rangers sought to sit in. Their passivity during away fixtures has become a theme. Van Bronckhorst doesn’t need to be told his honeymoon period is well and truly over.

Wider issues around recruitment and the contract profile of the squad at Ibrox cannot be laid at the manager’s door.

They contributed to Steven Gerrard’s reign running low on steam before he exited for Aston Villa, but a first half like Wednesday night — when Celtic could easily have scored five or six — would still have seemed unthinkable given the previous derby dominance.

There is, though, one unfortunate aspect in which Van Bronckhorst is threatening to mirror his predecessor. At least in terms of Gerrard’s initial seasons of development.

The winter break was kryptonite to Rangers’ title chances in each of those campaigns. Now, with only one win in four Premiership matches since the restart — which has turned a six-point lead into a deficit — there is a pressing need for the current Ibrox coaching staff to prevent history from repeating itself.

‘My concern is this looks like the third year in four when Rangers have not done well after the break,’ admitted ex-Rangers striker Kenny Miller. ‘In Steven Gerrard’s first two seasons they were right in the mix and then the wheels fell off.

‘Last season was the exception, they were relentless. Now they have come back, had four games and got five points out of 12. That’s not title-winning form. They must now react, simple as that. They must go out on Sunday and get three points.’

Miller is right to identify a gradual deterioration in performance. When Van Bronckhorst took charge, it seemed minor but effective tweaks were being made. Results were excellent. Fresh life looked to have been breathed into a squad that had grown stale during Gerrard’s fourth season.

That has clearly worn off. The underlying problems at Rangers haven’t gone away and now they’re being accompanied by muddled thinking on the pitch. The approach at Celtic Park was unfathomable.

‘I can’t believe Rangers came into the game as if they were shellshocked at Celtic starting fast,’ added Miller. ‘It’s been a trademark of their game. You’ve had 20-odd games of evidence of how Celtic play. And, with respect to them and as good as they were, if you can get after Celtic, like Rangers did in spells in the second half, you can win the ball off them high up the pitch.

‘They (Rangers) didn’t look ready for what was going to be coming at them.’

For Ange Postecoglou, it was a triumph founded on marrying intelligent recruitment directly to a defined style of play. Nine of his signings started against Rangers and there wasn’t a single failure.

In contrast, the Ibrox club have gone through successive windows without adding a permanent signing capable of improving the team.

The suspicion lingers that some players felt winning last season’s title represented ‘job done’. Even so, refreshing and renewing hasn’t happened. Key contracts are reaching either expiry or their final 12 months this summer, making a sizeable rebuild all but inevitable.

That’s a lot easier to undertake if you have £30million in Champions League money to play with.

Getting back on top and claiming that prize will need inspiration, which is where Aaron Ramsey should come in. There is a big burden on him to deliver once match fit — but Miller felt he could have already been on the bench at Parkhead.

‘I was surprised and disappointed,’ he told talkSPoRT. ‘If they feel they have to protect him so he is ready for the last 15 or 16 games of the season, then I get it. I think having him on the bench would have been a big lift — if he had been able to come on for the last 20 minutes.’

Much more is also needed from supposed stalwarts. Borna Barisic was rightly one of those replaced at half-time on Wednesday. The left-back’s combinations with Ryan Kent have tormented Celtic in the past but the winger was anonymous as an attacking threat.

‘He (Kent) has the ability, no doubt,’ argued Miller. ‘But we are three years in now and still talking about flashes with Ryan Kent.’

What happened at Parkhead won’t define Rangers’ season. But their response to it will. For Van Bronckhorst and his players, critical days lie ahead.