Charlie Nicholas blasts Rangers board, predicts outcome v Braga and Celtic
Charlie Nicholas believes Rangers could see their season over by the weekend and has placed the blame squarely on the board’s shoulders.
The Light Blues suffered defeat to Celtic and Braga at the start of the month in the first of two double-headers, but bounced back with a 4-0 win over St Mirren at the weekend.
As Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side prepare for the second leg of their Europa League clash and the Scottish Cup semi-final this week, Nicholas has told his Scottish Daily Express column that if the wheels come off the campaign then it’s the board’s fault, not the manager.
“I reckon Celtic can end Rangers’ season in the Scottish Cup semi-final this weekend,” he said.
“I fully expect Celtic to see off Rangers and if they go out of the Europa League on Thursday to SC Braga then it really would be a final blow to their hopes of glory.
“If that is the case then there will be a lot of fingers pointing from the light blue side of the city.
“I wouldn’t blame Giovanni van Bronckhorst. If that was to happen then it is down to the Rangers board and the lack of humility they showed last year. They wanted to fight the world and got ideas above their station.
“They are now getting a reality check and they deserve it. The board was trying to pick fights and to flex their muscles and they have taken their eye off the ball.
“They failed to strengthen their team adequately after they won the league. They didn’t deliver much in the summer for Steven Gerrard.
“They brought in Aaron Ramsey and a couple of others in January but failed to provide more competition for the central striking option.
“Van Bronckhorst has been suckered into things and I wouldn’t blame him for the situation Rangers are currently in.”
Blame
Whenever someone or something happens that doesn’t go to plan at Rangers, people are always trying to point the finger and find a scapegoat.
The truth of the matter is, especially in this instance, is that everyone needs to share some of the blame if the season goes under at this point.
Yes the squad wasn’t adequately boosted in the summer, but Van Bronckhorst was backed in January. The squad was good enough to be six points clear at the winter break, but they couldn’t maintain that.
The performances of the players and some of the decisions from the manager should also come under the spotlight for that period, which allowed Celtic to overtake them and establish their own six-point lead.
Things could have been done differently, for sure, but this season isn’t over yet and there’s a huge opportunity for the team to right their wrongs by claiming two huge wins this week and silencing the doubters.
In other Rangers news, Key man missing for Van Bronckhorst, four changes – Predicted Rangers XI v Braga