Giovanni van Bronckhorst comments on Rangers leaky defence
Giovanni van Bronckhorst has expressed his dissatisfaction with Rangers defensive performances in recent games.
Since the Dutchman took charge of the club, the Gers have performed admirably well in all competitions.
However, they have started to look vulnerable at the back, and suffered a huge 3-0 defeat against Celtic in the Scottish Premiership clash on Wednesday this week.
Van Bronckhorst is unhappy with the way his side has cheaply given away goals against Ross County and Celtic. He feels that there’s a lack of determination among the players and that they should take more responsibilities at the back.
“The back four in the games we played since I have been here were very stable and very determined,” said Van Bronckhorst (04 February) as quoted by the Daily Record.
“We didn’t give a lot of goals against us so that was really good. But you see the last two games we have given too many easy goals away. It hasn’t been like that but we have to improve if you also see the goals we conceded against Ross County, especially the first two.
“Celtic again, the second and third goal. That’s too easy to give goals away like that. We have to make sure we bring back the determination in the back line but also the players in front of that when needed have to everything to block the goals. That’s the mentality we need to have.”
Bounce back?
It’s been a different Rangers side after the winter break, and it seems they are struggling to hit the momentum.
They dropped points against Aberdeen and Ross County and the defeat against Old Firm surely have taken a huge chunk of confidence away from them.
Celtic have leapfrogged Rangers in the Scottish Premiership table, and the Gers must now bounce back to winning ways.
They face Hearts next at Ibrox on Sunday (06 February) and the Dutchman will be demanding a strong response from his side.
There are plenty of games left to be played and both Celtic and Rangers can still drop a lot of points, but Van Bronckhorst will be worried by his side’s gradual slump in form.
Meanwhile, Alfredo Morelos is back in training, and his return will serve as a massive boost.
Aaron Ramsey, the new signing from Juventus, will be hoping to make an impact as well.
Above all, the defensive performance must improve quickly.
In other Rangers news, here is our predicted Bears starting XI for the huge clash on Sunday afternoon against the Jambos