James Tavernier calls for Rangers teammates to take responsibility after Celtic defeat
James Tavernier has called on his Rangers teammates to take responsibility after being booed off the pitch following their defeat to Celtic on Sunday (3 September).
The Ibrox crowd turned on the Light Blues after they slumped to a 1-0 defeat to their Glasgow rivals, Kyogo Furuhashi’s first-half goal the difference between the two sides, with tensions already high after Michael Beale’s side’s embarrassing defeat to PSV.
Rangers now find themselves four points behind their Old Firm counterparts and sit fourth in the Scottish Premiership, and Tavernier is making no excuses for the poor start to the season.
Speaking following the game with The National (3 September) he said: “Well, [the reaction] is justified. It’s as simple as that. We didn’t get the result the fans wanted and it’s totally justified. It’s obviously international week, but it’s down to us boys who are still going to be here to correct things.
“It’s not an excuse [having new signings that need to gel]. But we as a team have to be responsible. All of us, collectively, and obviously individually. All of us, including myself, have to keep working hard and keep pushing ourselves.”
Responsibility
Few weeks at Rangers will have ever left such a sour taste in the mouth of the Gers fans, with expectations of an Old Firm win and Champions League qualification instead providing another year of Europa League football and Celtic topping the table.
Spirits were low following the defeat to PSV but Beale couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity to put things right with a match against Celtic just around the corner, what could have been an afternoon of redemption instead turned into one of embarrassment.
The Light Blues’ new signings are still struggling to have an impact on proceedings and although Tavernier doesn’t want to use it as an excuse, this side still looks like 11 individuals at a time, rather than a united team with a consistent pattern of play.
Hopefully, the next two weeks present a chance for Beale to make some inroads with this squad and ensure that when they return to action against St Johnstone on the 16 September, they take responsibility and give their fans something to cheer about.
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