Rangers need to deliver against Motherwell in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final today.
Firstly, the club is built on winning trophies and the fans know that despite Philippe Clement losing sight of the Rangers way with his recent comments.
Defending the trophy the Belgian delivered last year would go some way to getting the fans back on side. Crashing out to the Steelmen and not even getting the chance to contest the final would do the exact opposite.
Secondly, losing two games in a row in any competition and being defeated in three from five (three from four domestically) would always be seen as unacceptable for any Gers team and manager.
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Jamie Murphy identifies Rangers ‘no-no’
Rangers’ defeat to Aberdeen meant the gap between the sides, and Celtic, in the Premiership was extended to nine points.
Clement and his side are now playing catch-up in the race to finish second, let alone first.
Former Ibrox winger Jamie Murphy says combining that with being knocked out of the cup is unthinkable and a “huge no-no.”
He also feels they need a performance to go with it and not just a scrappy win.
The current Ayr United star told the Sunday Mail: “It’s unthinkable for Rangers to lose. If it doesn’t go their way there will be big problems. To lose ground to the team who are second in the league – never mind the team in first – then go out of the cup would be a huge no-no.
“It will be a travesty if they don’t beat Motherwell. From being there myself, I know that winning by a scrappy goal isn’t enough when you’re at Rangers. You need to play well in doing it and that just hasn’t happened.”
Similarities with Murphy’s Rangers side
Murphy knows what it is like to be part of a Rangers side outperformed by Aberdeen after signing from Brighton in January 2018 for a team that would finish third.
There was also a semi-final defeat to Motherwell that season, hopefully not a sign of things to come.
Murphy draws further parallels in terms of the make-up of the squad as he admits he had teammates who were simply not contributing.
He added: “When I got there it was pretty obvious that things needed to be fixed. That year we should have done a lot better and Aberdeen were good against us.
“But we had signings that were never going to stay and have an influence. I wouldn’t say it’s exactly the same now but there are definite similarities. There are things that remind me of when I came in. New players not making an impact is probably the biggest one.
“That year, we had seven or eight who, by January when I came in, were just there. They weren’t actually participating. Rangers won’t want that happening this season.”
