There appears to be little that comes out of Rangers at the moment which isn’t met with a groan and whilst captain James Tavernier meant well this week, an exclusive RTV interview has polarised fans.
The Gers were handed a post-international break lifeline by Steve Robinson’s St Mirren as the Buddies’ 2-0 victory over Celtic cut the lead at the top to two points and hauled Rangers back into the race.
Now, it means Rangers can technically go top of the league should they beat Hearts at Tynecastle before Celtic face Motherwell later in the day, heaping the pressure on our Old Firm rivals.
But amid a poor run of performances – and results – Rangers fans are unenthused by both the way the side are playing under Giovanni van Bronckhorst at the moment and the commitment of several key first-teamers.
Even James Tavernier himself – albeit carrying an injury – was posted missing in the 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Celtic in Glasgow’s eastend.
Now, the Ibrox captain has been out giving a rallying cry of sorts to club media as he insists Rangers are coming back from the international break “raring to go”.
“Obviously the first block of games, we were disappointed with the Hibs game and losing the men and taking a point there,” said Tavernier [RangersTV].
“The performance at Parkhead, we didn’t like that performance at all that we put in. But we are only two points in it in the league so there are a lot of games to play, it is still early in the season.
“The boys are raring to go to get it kicked off again…
“We are not far away. It is only two points and we have only played the first block of the season.
“There are plenty of games to play so it is down to us to keep our standards and the levels of consistency going through the games to create a real good momentum heading into the games.”
James Tavernier words need backed up with Rangers action
The comments have drawn minor criticism from some Rangers supporters given their potential to backfire.
Whilst St Mirren done Rangers a favour, the unconvincing win over Dundee United did little to extinguish frustrations in the support and this is still a team, management and squad under pressure.
Rangers fans are watching on through the cracks in their fingers at the moment and its on the squad – led by the likes of James Tavernier – to instill that confidence on the pitch.
Tavernier, van Bronckhorst and anyone else within the Rangers dressing room can talk all they like about turning things around but everyone knows that at Ibrox, actions speak louder than words.
Meanwhile, a former £8m midfielder recently linked to Rangers has taken a major decision on his future.
