Celtic have players who know how to win league titles ... Rangers have players who know how to lose them
Cruellest month has exposed the shortcomings in Ibrox squad
ONE of the 20th Century’s most decorated poets, T.S. Eliot wrote that April is the cruellest month.
When winter turns to spring, the longer days should herald sunshine, hope and expectation.
For Philippe Clement, April is becoming a month of dread and disappointment. Bogged down by the rain which turns venues like Dens Park to quicksand, the Rangers manager is grappling around in search of a branch to cling to.
Rangers walked on solid ground when they fought back from a goal down to beat Kilmarnock at Rugby Park at the end of February.
An 11th-straight win placed them two points clear of Celtic and even a surprise home defeat to Motherwell a week later proved less harmful than it might have been when their rivals lost to Hearts at Tynecastle 24 hours later.
Clement can give thanks for the presence of Hibernian. The flakiness of Nick Montgomery’s side is the reason Rangers have won two of their last eight games. After a creditable draw with Benfica in Lisbon, they lost the home leg at Ibrox. Their last three games, against Celtic, Ross County and Dundee, meanwhile, have delivered a return of two points from a possible nine.
Clement has been here before. As head coach of Monaco, a 3-1 win over Lorient 12 months ago this week elevated the principality side to third place in Ligue 1. A place in the Champions League third qualifying round looked more likely than not.
The wheels came off with a 3-0 loss to Lens, followed by a humiliating 4-0 home defeat to Montpellier. Winning just one of their last seven matches, Monaco slumped to sixth in the league and missed out on European football altogether. The Belgian was sacked on June 4.
One end-of-season blow-up might be considered unlucky. Two in two years would look careless.
The public statements after setbacks have already begun to raise eyebrows amongst supporters.
Arriving in the Dens Park press room after a 0-0 draw, the Rangers boss claimed his team bossed Dundee and deserved to win all three points.
Critical of the performance in Dingwall on Sunday, he could hardly throw his players under a bus once again. Not when he still has to wring a performance from them in the final games of the season.
The trouble is that there are no trophies presented for ‘moral victories’ such as the one claimed after a 3-3 draw with Celtic.
Having suggested journalists and fans are guilty of looking at results before performances, he might now want to start doing the same.
Scaling a peak is only half the battle. At a club like Rangers, it’s planting a flag at the summit which counts. And a first goalless draw against Dundee since 2001 did nothing to inspire confidence that he’ll be the man to do it on May 18.
It can’t all be laid at the door of the manager. While Celtic have a squad full of players who know how to win league titles, Rangers have a squad of players who know how to lose them.
This season would hardly be the first collapse in recent times and questions over the mental strength of senior players like James Tavernier and Connor Goldson are natural. The Premiership trophy won under Steven Gerrard came during the Covid season, when fans were absent from grounds.
Facing the wrath of 4,000 travelling supporters at Dens Park the other night, Tavernier and Co could have done with a flux capacitor to transport them back to April 2021 when empty stands seemed to suit them.
A focus on leadership skills obscures the possibility that ability is a bigger problem. Yet to beat Celtic in three meetings this season, the final chance in the league comes at Parkhead on May 11.
While it’s far from inconceivable that Brendan Rodgers’ side will drop more points, there’s a question mark over the ability of this Rangers squad to take advantage if they do.
Speaking on Sky Sports after the 0-0 draw in Dundee, former Rangers striker Kris Boyd was scathing of his old team.
He said: ‘When people speak about winners and needing to find them, you can’t go finding winners. You’re born. There is something inside people that drives them on.
‘When you are looking at it on Sunday and looking at it in
Winners are born. There’s something inside people that drives them on
April howlers: Clement couldn’t find solutions to re-invigorate his side in the goalless draw at Dens Park Dundee, you would say there were none. You look at James Tavernier and he has done it over a period of time now, he has.
‘In terms of trophies, he hasn’t delivered the number he should have. But in terms of performances he has. He has scored big goals.
‘But that’s your right-back. If Rangers Football Club are depending on a right-back to bail them out of trouble week in and week out, then they have got big problems ahead of them.
‘There needs to be more from the forward areas.’
Clement spoke of Rangers being ‘creative’ in the January transfer window. With limited funds to spend, rumours of a move for Lawrence Shankland of Hearts were always optimistic.
Robbed of new recruits Mohamed Diomande and Oscar
Cortes by injury, Clement has earned the right to ship out the old guard in the summer and build his own team. He’d have more cash and scope to do that if Rangers could find a way to win the league and bank the cash for automatic qualification for the Champions League.
‘He needs a few players in but he’s not going to get them at this moment in time,’ added Boyd. ‘He needs to find a way to get more better players.
‘Diomande has come in and they missed him at the weekend and it shouldn’t be the case that you miss one player. But you look at Dundee and he is the one who is tenacious in the tackle, sets the tempo, goes after people, gets on the ball and makes things happen in a forward area.
‘There was nothing in Dundee. Nothing. At this moment in time it’s not working for Rangers.’