Leon Balogun admitted the Rangers dressing room was a very quiet place on Sunday.
Balogun took aim at his underperforming Gers teammates after being used as a sub in the defeat to Kilmarnock but he also told how eerily quiet things were after the match.
Asked what the mood was like in the away changing room, he admitted: “Very quiet, very frustrated. Rightfully so.
“But at the same time, we’ve made our bed and we have to lie in it.”
Why a quiet Rangers changing room worries Ferguson
Rightly so? Not for former Rangers captain Barry Ferguson who is actually worried to hear those comments from Balogun.
The passionate midfielder had ups and downs in a royal blue shirt and would always be one to tell it like it is, so wouldn’t be shy of digging teammates out when it was needed after a below-par display.
That’s why he was taken aback to hear the current squad were sitting in silence in Ayrshire, insisting he would be “turning it upside down.”
Writing in the Daily Record, he said: “Within 10 or 15 minutes of kick-off I actually turned to my eldest boy and told him that Rangers would be lucky to get out of there with a 0-0 draw. If anything, I was already preparing myself for Kilmarnock to take all three points.
“And that is what disappoints me more than anything else. Forget the style of play, forget the manager’s decisions – of course, they’re all important but none of these details really matter unless the players have the hunger and desire to take their share of responsibility when they cross that white line.
“Put it this way, I heard someone say the away dressing room was a very quiet place after the final whistle. Hold on a minute, a quiet place? If I was in there I’d be turning it upside down on the back of a defeat which could not have come at a worse moment.”
Clement ‘going nowhere’ from Rangers
Fergie has his finger on the pulse when it comes to Rangers and he knows there are huge frustrations within the fanbase right now – many of them aimed squarely at the manager.
He reckons changing the man in charge once again is not the answer, though. Firstly, there is the fact the Belgian recently signed a four-year deal so isn’t likely to be shifting any time soon.
But he also feels it’s a mentality shift within the squad at Ibrox that is needed rather than a change in the dugout.
“I’m not going to pretend I haven’t heard the concerns and frustrations of my fellow Rangers supporters over the past few days,” he added.
“Ever since Sunday’s defeat at Rugby Park some of them have turned their attention towards Philippe Clement and the calls for his head have begun. I’m well aware of that. But I also believe there is a deeper issue right now which needs to be confronted.
“Look, Clement is going nowhere. He was handed a new four-year deal just a couple of months ago and he’s been trusted with overseeing a major period of transition. He said himself that there would probably be some pain along the way and he wasn’t wrong. More than that, I’m sure he’ll realise that he can’t expect to be given a free pass if the results are not what they should be so it will come as no surprise to him to hear the supporters venting their unhappiness. That’s just the price of the ticket at a club which is built on delivering success.
“But while I can understand why the Belgian is feeling a bit of unwanted heat right now I have also reached the conclusion that it’s not a change of manager Rangers need right now – it’s a major overhaul of mentality that’s really required. And I can say that as someone with the experience of coming through some difficult periods when, as players, we knew the patience of the supporters was being pushed to its limits.”
