National newspaper Rangers ratings v Ajax: Antonio Colak slammed
Rangers delivered yet another abject away performance as Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side suffered a damaging 4-0 defeat to Ajax in their Champions League opener.
The Daily Record (7 September) has delivered their player ratings for their performances at the Amsterdam Arena with a number of players putting in abject displays.
Five of the Gers’ starting eleven were awarded 3/10 and another five 4/10, with Jon McLaughlin the highest rated player with a five.
The Daily Record called out Colak in particular for his performance in Amsterdam. They wrote: “A passenger.
“Rangers really need more from their frontman’s hold-up play if they are to survive repeated onslaughts at this level. Might have to start worrying about his place if Morelos can get himself fit.”
Awful week
It’s fair to say that Rangers have had better weeks when it comes to performances on the pitch and it became apparent, quite early, that a trip to face Ajax was not what they needed after their Old Firm defeat.
This is the most pressure that Giovanni van Bronckhorst has faced during his tenure at Ibrox and it’s absolutely crucial that the Gers pick up a positive result against Aberdeen on Saturday (10 August).
Failure to do so could see Rangers fall to third in the Scottish Premiership and the pressure really start to mount on van Bronckhorst and the board at Ibrox.
The players also need to take responsibility after two completely abject displays in the Light Blues’ biggest games of the season.
Questions can be raised over the transfer activity over the summer, but the majority of these players reached a European final in the 2021/22 season and haven’t become bad players overnight.
The board and van Bronckhorst can certainly shoulder some of the blame, but ultimately the players need to look at themselves and deliver the levels that the Ibrox faithful know they can.
Going back to basics and getting a much-needed win on Saturday is a must.
In other Rangers news, Michael Stewart got stuck into one player after what he did in the past week