Pat Nevin reveals ‘problem’ in Rangers title bid after what he saw in loss v Ross County
Pat Nevin believes the “lack of imagination” in the Rangers side could end up costing them the Scottish Premiership title this season.
Speaking on the BBC’s Scottish Football Podcast on Monday (15 April), the pundit was stunned by the Gers’ 3-2 defeat against Ross County on Sunday (14 April) as he praised the hosts for the goals they scored and how they defended their lead.
But Nevin admitted that he expected more from the Light Blues as he suggested they need to show more “sophistication” in the way they attack as he believes their lack of imagination may have been the “problem” for them in Dingwall.
“Think about the periods of a season, there are one or two periods where your jaw hits the floor, it was one of them,” said Nevin. “When the third one goes in, you’re just saying ‘Wow, is this happening?’. Rangers fans can be shouting and balling, correctly saying ‘Wait a minute, have you looked at things like the other stats?’.
“Is it 17 corners to three in their favour and, obviously, they had a lot more possession, but you’re going to get that against your Celtic’s and Rangers, it’s how you deal with the possession you’ve got. I thought they were brilliant with it, the goals were different class and the defending was outrageous.
“The thing I would say about Rangers, in the first half against Celtic, they didn’t show imagination, which I expected a bit more from them. They did play well in that game, but there was a lack of imagination, and maybe in this game that was the problem. Get your corners, lump it in there.
“But sophistication, something like the neat little one-twos that Ross County played for their goals, maybe that was missing and that in the end might be the thing that costs them the title.”
Can Rangers regain the momentum in the title race?
It’s certainly going to be a much harder task for Rangers to lift the title this season on the back of their surprise defeat against Ross County.
They headed into that game with the chance to leapfrog Celtic again at the top of the table with back-to-back victories against the Staggies and Dundee on Wednesday (17 April).
But in some ways, it now feels as though they absolutely must win at Dens Park to just keep their title hopes alive after the damaging defeat on Sunday.
While goals haven’t been a problem lately, the Gers have been far too open at the back and that is an area where Philippe Clement will be looking for his side to improve.
He will also be hoping they can be a bit more ruthless in the key moments as they need to start killing teams off if they want to get their hands on the trophy this season.
In other Rangers news, Chris Sutton has torn into the Gers players after what they did against Ross County.
For more Rangers news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.