Rangers players can’t hide behind Giovanni
Scotland icon Dalglish’s message after seven-goal woe
Sir Kenny Dalglish has called on the Rangers players to stand up and be counted.
After Celtic extended their lead at the top of the Premiership to five points, today’s visit to Fir Park is very much a must-win game for the Ibrox club.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst – who revealed Connor Goldson will be out “for months” with a thigh injury – has come under mounting pressure since the 7-1 humiliation against Liverpool in midweek.
But Dalglish, writing exclusively in The Sunday Post, said: “Rangers can’t afford to drop points to Motherwell, and it’s up to captain, James Tavernier and his teammates to get it right.
“Sure, managers always carry the can. Rightly or wrongly, that’s the way it’s always been and always will be.
“But the players must stand up Caption Caption Caption yaya and take responsibility. They must show character and leadership in their own right.
“They can’t hide behind Giovanni and let him take all the flak.
“A 7-1 defeat at home is never acceptable, but Rangers should not be judged on the Champions League.
“It’s a different level to what they are used to.”
It doesn’t surprise me that some Rangers supporters want Giovanni van Bronckhorst sacked on the back of the 7-1 defeat to Liverpool.
In this day and age, with the madness of social media platforms and radio phone-ins right after the full-time whistle, it’s those who are disgruntled that shout the loudest.
But I don’t agree with it. The Light Blues manager should not be judged on what happened at Ibrox on Wednesday night.
Sacking Giovanni is the easy option – but it wouldn’t be the right call.
Ultimately, it’s down to the hierarchy in the Blue Room, and what they feel is the best way forward for their football club.
Do they want Giovanni at the helm, or not? Do they want him to be the man to be in charge when there is the opportunity to make signings in the January window?
There is no doubt that chairman, Douglas Park, and his directors will be unhappy and embarrassed about that scoreline. But they don’t strike me as being the type to pull the trigger at this stage.
It’s time for everyone connected to Rangers – players, management, the board and supporters – to take a deep breath.
Have a proper analysis of where improvements can be made, and then get on with implementing their findings as quickly as possible.
That may take time and patience. But the immediate priority is getting a victory at Fir Park this afternoon.
Rangers can’t afford to drop points to Motherwell, and it’s up to captain, James Tavernier, and his team-mates to get it right.
Sure, managers always carry the can. Rightly or wrongly, that’s the way it’s always been and always will be.
But the players must stand up and take responsibility. They must show character and leadership in their own right.
They can’t hide behind Giovanni and let him take all the flak.
A 7-1 defeat at home is never acceptable, but Rangers should not be judged on the Champions League. It’s a different level to what they are used to.
Their focus should be on winning the Premiership title, and making sure they take full points between now and the break for the World Cup in the middle of November.
It looks unlikely they will even finish in third place in their Champions League group, whereas Celtic might still achieve that.
Once again, they played well in midweek, and may feel unlucky they didn’t get something from the game.
However, the fact is they lost 2-0 to RB Leipzig.
Celtic started well, were totally in the game for an hour but seemed to run out of steam and were wide open in the final 25 minutes.
The manager needs to look at that ahead of the home game against Shakhtar. Beat the Ukrainian side, and third place is there to be had.
It would still be a huge ask, but it means they would go to the Bernabeu to face Real Madrid with something to play for in the final game.
It wouldn’t be pleasant if both halves of the Old Firm finished bottom of their groups.
Rangers have still to get their first point. That’s not a good look, regardless of the quality of the opposition.
But it’s about the Gers lifting themselves off the floor today. They must be in the right frame of mind.
In contrast, Liverpool left Ibrox in midweek feeling good about themselves.
Jurgen Klopp said that there was a different feeling about the place immediately after the victory compared to the past wee while.
Well, if you can’t smile and have a spring in your step after a 7-1 win in Europe away from home, there is something wrong with you!
However, once any euphoria has died down, they face Manchester City at Anfield today.
That’s quite a thought. Right now, Pep Guardiola’s side look a different animal, and they will present Jordan Henderson and the lads with one hell of a challenge.
City, along with Arsenal, look very good just now, and are setting the pace.
Jurgen has conceded that it will be almost impossible to win the Premier League this season, and you can understand why he said that.
But it can still be a successful campaign, and there remains plenty for them to compete for.