Joe Worrall’s verdict on why Rangers struggle so much domestically has fueled debate – but he’s spot on.
The Rangers defender has been in the headlines all day for something or another. The most noteworthy claim of today from the Englishman was that he sees himself as going back to Nottingham Forest in the summer.
That was certainly an interesting story. Nobody is expecting him to tell everyone he’s signing for Rangers, but there was a hint of hope in his delivery about heading back down south.
Yet, another big talking point was his explanation for Rangers’ European success vs their domestic woes. It’s certainly been a season of two stories when you look at it.
Worrall, however, feels that there’s a pretty simply explanation regarding it all. As he spoke to the press earlier today, on-loan star Worrall believes teams are giving Rangers more respect in Scotland.
“In Scotland we face a lot of teams who sit behind the ball and give us a lot of respect. In Europe we’re viewed as underdogs and they come for us. We can then play through their press. The manager fields a team tailor-made for the opposition.
“But it shouldn’t matter who we are playing. If we get the formula right we should be blowing teams away as that is what we’re capable of. We haven’t played the best over the past few games and have conceded some poor goals. I hold my hand up for a few of them.
“We should be beating teams three and four-nil at Ibrox, it doesn’t matter who they are — unless they are Barcelona.”
Good confidence
It’s nice confidence from Worrall with his last part. Rangers will always look to win every game they play at Ibrox, but it’s changed days. The club respect the journey they’ve been on, and expectations have slowly been on the rise. Consistently hammering Premiership teams at Ibrox on a weekly basis is getting close, but it’s not there yet.
Where he is spot on, however, is his assessment on European football. Before Steven Gerrard walked in the door, Rangers hadn’t qualified for European competition since 2010. They also hadn’t participated in the Europa League since 2011.
In other words, Rangers’ reputation on the continent has been shot. There’s a lack of respect for the name in terms of on-pitch quality these days. Teams aren’t going to give Rangers much respect until that gets built up again.
In Scotland, however, everyone has had a front-row seat to the Gerrard tenure. It’s been interesting to say the least, but everyone knows Rangers have improved. They’re all aware of the standard of player Rangers currently obtain, and therefore have strong respect for that.
Other than Celtic, nobody can compete with Rangers in the transfer market. That was proven when they plucked Kyle Lafferty from the league leaders in the summer.
Clubs will sit back and try to defend against Rangers knowing they don’t have the quality to get at them. In Europe? It’s the polar opposite.
Gerrard understands that his side have to improve in their final ball. Only then will they start destroying teams on a consistent basis. But the club remain a work in progress, and until they work on their weaknesses, there will be more painful and memorable moments mixed in with each other to come.
With regards to Worrall, who can truly argue with his view?
