Rangers players will give Sauchiehall Street a swerve after Kilmarnock shock, says John Collins
Rangers’ summer recruits will have discovered they are at a club with “high expectations” and will be keeping a low profile this week, according to John Collins.
The Gers made a miserable start to their Scottish Premiership campaign, losing 1-0 at Kilmarnock, and already find themselves three points behind Celtic after The Hoops’ 4-2 victory over Ross County.
Michael Beale named a team that included five summer signings, with the front three all consisting of new arrivals, but none of those new players were able to mark their debut with a goal.
And former Celtic player Collins believes that Rangers stars will be giving the Glasgow city centre a miss this week, as they now realise the size of the task they are about to undertake.
“They realise now they’re at a big club with high expectations. This week they will be keeping their heads low in Glasgow. They won’t be walking down Sauchiehall Street smiling but that’s the reality kicked in for the first game of the season,” Collins told BBC Sportsound, as reported by the Daily Record (6 August).
“It’s a new city, new tactics and environment. It’s not as easy as people think. Celtic signed a lot of players but only one started. Rangers had four at the top of the pitch, and those players need to know their strengths and weaknesses.
“Michael Beale will have to calm everybody down this week. Big midweek game in Europe to bounce back and get back to winning ways.”
Setback
It couldn’t have been a more disappointing start to the season for Beale and Rangers. An opening-day defeat is never ideal, and Celtic getting their campaign off to a winning start would have made the loss that bit more tricky to digest.
Unfortunately for the Gers, they cannot turn back time, and they will need to face the defeat head-on, attempt to learn from it and try and bounce back. Collins is spot on in suggesting that Beale and his squad have a great chance to do just that with their game in midweek.
There is nothing more frustrating than losing a game and then needing to wait a week to put things right. Luckily for the club, they do not need to wait that long, and hopefully, this loss would have provided their new players with extra fuel to prove the Kilmarnock defeat was a blip and show what they can do.
In other Rangers news, a Sky Sports pundit has sent a warning to Todd Cantwell.