Michael Stewart: Rangers staff ‘tearing their hair out’ over what players have done
Rangers crashed down to earth with a 2-0 loss against Hibernian at Ibrox on Saturday.
Since Barry Ferguson’s arrival as interim boss, the Gers have picked up points as well as progressing to the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
However, performances haven’t always been convincing and a 2-0 loss at home certainly served as a reminder that there is plenty of work to be done in Glasgow.
Michael Stewart moots Rangers mood
After the sacking of Philippe Clement and the subsequent appointment of Ferguson, it was fairly clear that the Gers hierarchy was making an appointment with morale in mind rather than purely football purposes.
As a former player, Ferguson is well aware of the expectations as a Light Blues player and therefore, it was hoped that he could drill those standards into the current squad.
Although Rangers beat Dundee last weekend, it took a 93rd-minute goal from Cyriel Dessers to make the difference and their close calls caught up with them against Hibernian.
The result means that the Bears are without a win at Ibrox in five games, the opposite problem they had under Clement’s management.
| Rangers last five at Ibrox | |
| v Hibernian | 0-2 |
| v Fenerbahce | 0-2 |
| v Motherwell | 1-2 |
| v St Mirren | 0-2 |
| v Queen’s Park | 0-1 |
When asked if the pressure of Ibrox could be getting to the players on BBC Sportscene (5 April), Michael Stewart admitted: “Barry Ferguson, Neil McCann, Billy Dodds, Alan McGregor, they’ve all gone in there. These are guys that have played under those heavy expectations, they’ve thrived in it.
“They must be pulling their hair out with this group of players in terms of trying to instil that determination, that hunger but unfortunately for Rangers, that group of players I just don’t think they have enough characters to carry that team.”
Rangers takeover can’t come soon enough
For many supporters at Rangers, you can imagine they are eager for this campaign to finish in the hope of looking ahead to better times.
It has been a disastrous season and, although the Europa League is still up for grabs, even a win would not be enough to paper over all of the cracks in Glasgow.
However, as the 49ers Enterprises look to complete their takeover of the club in time for the new campaign, this could change everything at Ibrox.
There has been speculation over whether Ferguson has done enough to stake his claim to the permanent managerial position at Rangers but as it stands, it seems more likely that the 49ers will make their own appointment.
It will then be up to whoever is in charge to filter through the current players and axe a large number who are not up to the standards.
As Stewart points out, there are too many passive members of the current Rangers team who are failing to show the levels that their current management set back when they were playing.
There is a responsibility to be taken by multiple parties for the Gers’ suffering this season but it is time the squad start looking at themselves too.