BBC Sportscene pundit slams three Rangers players despite aggregate win v Red Star Belgrade
Leanne Crichton wasn’t impressed with what a few Rangers players had to offer on Thursday night in their 2-1 defeat at Red Star Belgrade.
Although the Light Blues advanced to the quarter-finals of the Europa League, where they’ll play Braga, with a 4-2 aggregate victory, their display in Serbia this week wasn’t the strongest.
After the first half concluded, ex-Celtic Women player Crichton took aim at James Tavernier, Calvin Bassey and Glen Kamara for their performances.
“Tavernier and Bassey are getting caught too far up the pitch – Rangers might think about a back five,” said Crichton on BBC Sportscene on Thursday night [17 March], as quoted on the BBC Sport website.
“Glen Kamara hasn’t quite got a handle on the game.
“There are opportunities for players to come off the bench and make a difference.”
Unfair?
Let’s face it, we weren’t great at all in Belgrade and will have to play far better if we want to get past Braga and set up a semi-final clash with either RB Leipzig or Atalanta.
It’s going to be tough but we’ve beaten Braga recently and, without meaning to disrespect them, possibly the weakest team left in the competition.
Rangers are a massive club and there will be teams in the draw eyeing us up and thinking they could beat us but we’re looking at Braga in the same way – this is very much winnable.
As for the game in Belgrade, Rangers weren’t at the races and Allan McGregor managed to play a massive role in the aggregate victory.
Crichton’s right to criticise the players. Just because we qualified doesn’t excuse bad performances because if that happened in the Scottish Premiership, we wouldn’t be so forgiving.
We’ve had too many games in 2022 where the players have not been at their best.
That must change.
In other Rangers news, Serbian newspapers reacted to the result in Belgrade.