Barry Ferguson is still looking for his first win at Ibrox as Rangers manager after the Gers succumbed to yet another home defeat against Hibernian.
Hibs ran out 2-0 winners over Rangers courtesy of Dylan Levitt’s fist half-effort from the edge of the box and Martin Boyle’s offside-trap breaking run and finish in the second period.
The result was met with resounding whistles by the Rangers fans, the few remaining having waited until the final whistle if only to boo yet another abject Ibrox performance.
Hibs’ disciplined tactical display and superior physicality won the day and here’s four big talking points as Barry Ferguson’s case to become the next Gers boss suffers a major blow.
Jack Butland under major Rangers pressure after latest howler v Hibs
Jack Butland increasingly finds himself under the microscope with the Rangers goalkeeper involved in a succession of errors in recent weeks.
Neil McCann defended Butland ahead of Rangers’ clash with Hibs after the keeper fumbled the ball into the path of Joe Shaughnessy against Dundee.
This time out, Butland failed to stop Dylan Levitt’s tame eighth minute effort with the ball going through the Rangers goalkeeper and into the back of the net.
The pressure is now rising on Butland and manager Barry Ferguson but both will hope the visit of Athletic Bilbao proves a welcome Europa League distraction.
Is Barry Ferguson’s tactical tinkering becoming a distraction?
When Rangers announced their starting XI for the clash with Hibs, Rangers fans spent the hour before kick-off trying to work out the team’s formation.
Come half-time, with Rangers 1-0 down, they were still trying.
Ferguson employed a fluid formation against Hibs with a back-four turning into a back-five with Jefte turning into a left-winger and Vaclav Cerny on the right.
James Tavernier would alternate between right-back and centre-back giving the Ibrox captain the freedom to bolt forward into space in that corridor of uncertainty with Dujon Sterling covering.
Just before the hour mark, Ferguson then introduced Nedim Bajrami for Vaclav Cerny, shifting to a 4-3-1-2 as the side chased a goal.
Rangers fans embrace the need for adaptability in matches after a succession of stubborn coaches, but Fergie’s constant tactical tinkering is now becoming a distraction.
Hamza Igamane forced out wide to accommodate wasteful Cyriel Dessers
Hamza Igamane has been the breakthrough star of Rangers’ season but after a bright spell between November and December, the Moroccan’s star has somewhat dimmed.
Unearthed from FAR Rabat by Philippe Clement and Nils Koppen, Igamane lashed in a hat-trick the last time Rangers faced Hibs.
Since then the striker has scored three goals in 11 Scottish Premiership matches.
Increasingly Rangers have opted to stick with Cyriel Dessers in the number nine role with Igamane forced out left or in behind to accommodate.
Whilst the Moroccan does have creative freedom to go out and try to impact the game, Dessers missed two clear cut chances in the first half and continues to frustrate supporters.
Ferguson changed things around the hour mark with Igamane partnering Dessers up front but a resolute Hibs gave little away to either player.
The worst performing Rangers team in Ibrox history
As if this Rangers squad of overpaid underperformers didn’t need anything else to be held against them, this is technically the worst ever performing Rangers team at Ibrox.
Rangers have now lost five matches – yes you read that correctly, five matches – on the trot at Ibrox for the first time in the club’s 153 year history.
| Rangers record-breaking five game run at Ibrox |
| Rangers 1 – 2 Queen’s Park |
| Rangers 0 – 2 St Mirren |
| Rangers 1 – 2 Motherwell |
| Rangers 0 – 2 Fenerbahce |
| Rangers 0 – 2 Hibs |
The record of four matches had been previously held by, checks notes, this Rangers team. Four was a record, five is taking it into new territory. It could easily be six on Thursday with Athletic Bilbao set to visit Ibrox in the Europa League.
It’s a damning indictment of the club’s shortcomings in almost every department, with Rangers also conceding two or more goals in a match for the sixth time in a row.
The last time this happened at Rangers was over 130 years ago, way back in 1894.
