New Rangers signings will be shocked by fan reaction to their opening-day defeat to Kilmarnock
Rangers’ new signings would be in “shock” following fans’ reaction to their opening-day defeat to Kilmarnock, according to Andy Halliday.
The former Rangers man and current Hearts midfielder said (7 August) that the new players may not fully understand the expectation that come with playing for the likes of Rangers and Celtic, where fans expect wins every week.
With a lot of expectation this season following the busy window, Halliday claims that new signings, including Danilo, Abdallah Sima and Sam Lammers, may not understand straight away but fan reactions to poor performances will set them straight.
As quoted by FootballScotland, Halliday said: “I think it’s the reaction that will shock them. They might have been at clubs previously where a point away from home was not a bad result. Rangers and Celtic, three points is mandatory every week, it’s something that has got to happen.
“I think what they also have to realise is Rangers fans are used to seeing a deficit behind Celtic for the best part of a decade. With a lot of hype going into the season, to already have a three-point deficit after the first game, there’s going to be a lot of pressure that comes with that.
“They might not get it straight away, but something will happen where they will realise. Whether that be getting stopped 30 times walking down the road to Waitrose or losing on the opening day of the season and seeing the reaction from the crowd.”
Great expectations
Celtic and Rangers are two of the strongest supported sides in world football. The Gers’ surprise defeat in their opening fixture shocked much of the fanbase after a weak and tame performance.
With an influx of new signings, Rangers fans have high expectations this season and will seek to dethrone Celtic and ruin Brendan Rodger’s return to Glasgow and challenge in Europe.
However, perhaps the magnitude of what it means to play at Ibrox has not been made clear to the new signings, and the fans’ reaction to the loss may have been a shock to them.
Beale has a lot of work to do to curry favour with the fans and bedding the new signings into the squad as soon as possible with a convincing string of results is essential. Rangers face Servette on Wednesday (9 August) in the third round qualifier – a must win over the two legs for the Gers.
This gives Beale the perfect chance to rectify the situation and give the fans something to be happy about. This in turn could help the new recruits settle into the team and, hopefully, perform better.
Time are uncertain at Ibrox after just one match, but the new players now have a taste of the Ibrox faithful.
In other Rangers news, a recent loan departure has spoken out following his Ibrox exit.