As Rangers were brought back down to earth with an almighty bump away to St Mirren on Boxing Day – losing a Scottish Premiership fixture for the first time to Aberdeen – Kris Boyd was hardly taken by surprise.
The Ibrox icon was never getting carried away with those heavy victories over the likes of Kilmarnock and Ross County.
The true test of Rangers’ progress under Philippe Clement, Boyd felt, was how they would fare away from the comfort of their home ground. As such, the sight of Rangers conceding a 93rd minute winner away at St Mirren was all the proof Boyd needed that a team 12 points adrift of Old Firm rivals Celtic had not, contrary to popular belief, turned a corner.
By his own admission, Clement was ‘so angry’ with Rangers’ performance in Paisley. Throughout the first-half in particular, his side lost countless individual duels, failing to cope with the pent-up aggression of Stephen Robinson’s team.
Rangers have now lost 50 per cent of their away fixture in the Premiership this season, with a negative goal difference to boot.
Kris Boyd hammers Rangers’ away record after St Mirren loss
“[Clement] is under pressure, there is no doubt about it,” Boyd seethes. “Rangers away form has been a disgrace to be honest. We’ve picked up ten points from a possible 24. We’ve scored seven goals and conceded eight.
“It’s not good enough. You point to the fact that Pittodrie, Celtic Park, Rugby Park and St Mirren are the stadiums that Rangers have lost at, but you’ve lost four out of eight away from home and you’re not even at the New Year!
“Its not good enough.”
Boyd was especially concerned to see summer signings Connor Barron and Nedim Bajrami hauled off at half-time, to be replaced by Nico Raskin and Danilo. Two players who were already at Rangers before Clement replaced Mick Beale back in October 2023.
After a fine start, Barron has lost his place in the Gers XI. Bajrami has impressed in his preferred number ten role of late, meanwhile, but still a lot more is expected of a player who joined for £3.4 million after a spell in Italy’s Serie A.
- READ MORE: Rangers Transfer History 2016-Present
Boyd concerned about Connor Barron and Nedim Bajrami
“I wasn’t getting carried away with the recent upturn. Plain and simple because the of opposition Rangers were against, they should be winning [those games],” Boyd adds.
“I don’t know, there is a lot of flip-flopping from Philippe Clement. You only need to look at the signings.
“Connor Barron and Bajrami, who was Rangers’ star signing in the summer, he was the one who came in for big money, when Rangers need a result, need a performance, Barron and Bajrami were whipped off to be replaced by two players Clement inherited.
“You only hear from Clement ‘this new squad’ but its not the truth. There is something in the football department at Rangers right now not working.”
In fairness to both Barron and Bajrami, Clement insisted that he could have taken off eight or nine players at the interval such was the nature of Rangers’ first 45 minutes at St Mirren. Yet, the fact that it was Barron and Bajrami who got the hook will do little to silence the notion that the summer of 2024 was another window of below-par recruitment from a club who have tossed millions upon millions into the blender in recent years.
