Rangers told to forget title charge on basis of ‘bomb scare’ out of Danny Rohl’s hands
Derek Ferguson insists Rangers have no chance of mounting any sort of title charge this season on the basis of a “bomb scare” inherited by Danny Rohl.
Rangers beat Dundee 3-0 at Dens Park last weekend to make it three Scottish Premiership wins in a row, seeing them climb up to fourth place in the process.
It has been a tremendous turnaround in league form for Rohl, albeit offset by Rangers’ defeat to Celtic in the Premier Sports Cup, plus losses to Brann and Roma in the Europa League.
Rangers trail league leaders Hearts by 12 points with a game in hand, while Celtic are five points better off in second.
Danny Rohl needs to sort out Rangers defence as a priority
Chris Sutton believes Rangers can rival Hearts and Celtic, but only if the right moves are made in the January transfer window.
In the view of player-turned-pundit Ferguson, speaking exclusively to Ibrox News, there is zero chance of Rangers stringing together the type of winning run needed with their current defensive setup.
January will provide Rohl with his first chance to rectify those issues, but the damage from the previous tenures will already have been done by then.
Asked if Rangers are capable of closing the gap at the top, Ferguson said: “No, I don’t. Rohl’s inherited a bomb scare in terms of that defensive setup.
“Individually, it’s clear to see they’re not good enough – and indeed collectively. Rohl’s been cute in changing to a back five, but you look at them and they don’t look solid.
“They look as though they lack in confidence and they know they’re going to concede. Their body language is also quite alarming at times.
“I’m thinking of Nasser Djiga, James Tavernier, John Souttar. If you’re a midfielder or a striker and you’re relying on those behind you, it doesn’t inspire you and give you confidence.
“That is Danny Rohl’s Achilles heel. Until he sorts that, there’s no chance of going on a winning run like that.”
Rangers return to action after the two-week international break with a home match against Livingston on 22 November.
Rangers’ poor clean sheet record laid bare
While there is also plenty of work to be done in attack still, improving Rangers’ defence is a priority for Rohl.
Rangers have kept just six clean sheets in their 24 matches this season, and two of those came before the first week of August.
Not only that, they concede goals at an alarming rate in games. Take the 6-0 loss to Club Brugge as the most pertinent example.
The good news is that Rangers have back-to-back shutouts under Rohl in the league, but the key now is to prolong that over a number of games.
Titles are won by strong defences, so working on this Gers team from back to front makes perfect sense.
This is a long-term project Rohl is overseeing – as much as Rangers fans hate that saying – and the early signs in the league are positive.
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