Andy Halliday believes Rangers’ performance in the victory over Dundee United on Sunday afternoon was made out to be worse than what it actually was.
Rangers returned to winning ways at Tannadice after a dreary international break that succeeded a demoralising Old Firm defeat to Celtic two weeks ago.
Tom Lawrence proved his doubters wrong to become the hero on the day, as his superbly taken chipped finish was enough to secure three points and maintain the five-point gap behind the Hoops in the Scottish Premiership.
Rangers came out the traps flying and had Dundee United on the back foot right from the first whistle with neat interchanges and good movement off the ball in attacking areas.
However, some felt Gers took their foot off the gas as the game wore on, compounded by a better second-half showing from the Arabs who had chances to level things up.
But former Rangers midfielder Halliday is having none of that and thinks his old team put in a professional away performance despite the narrow scoreline.
Andy Halliday defends Rangers showing
Andy Halliday told Clyde 1 Superscoreboard: “I think there’s been a lot made of Rangers’ performance yesterday (Sunday) that was, for me, a little bit over the top.
“I thought they were really good for large spells of the first-half and in the second-half, although not quite the same output going forward and in possession, I thought they remained very, very comfortable throughout.
“And for me, if that was a Celtic victory, you’d be saying it’s a professional victory, job done. But I think with the moment Rangers are in just now, you are really wanting them to go and put in a Ross County-esque performance to erase the memory of two weeks ago (Old Firm loss).
“But I thought they were never in any danger of dropping the three points.”
Philippe Clement ‘proud’ of his Rangers stars
Halliday wasn’t the only one of a Rangers persuasion who saw more positives than shortcomings.
Manager Clement thinks because the dark cloud Rangers have been under of late, coupled with the fact he had limited time to work with his full squad due to the international break, the victory at Tannadice was one to be proud of.
The Belgian had this to say to the press after the game: “It’s the only reaction that I demand, that I expect. It was a difficult couple of weeks, yes, but that was that one result. And it was a really bad result.
“But it was a long time before we could get another game. I said it before this game, I would have preferred to play three days afterwards. But it was not the case.
“It was international week, so a lot of players left. So it’s not easy to come then to Dundee and to play that way with a lot of players who are new in the building and a lot who have been away with national duty.
“So I’m really proud of the players, what they did today. And you saw already direct back the synergy with them and the fans. So that’s a crucial thing also.”
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