Cyriel Dessers’ poor day at the office summed up Rangers’ frustrations
“Not good enough”. “Devoid of confidence”. “Fragile”. “Way below par”. “They don’t look like a side that can win”.
It’s safe to say former Ibrox striker and BBC Scotland pundit Steven Thompson was not impressed by Rangers’ performance in defeat by Aris Limassol.
In their first outing since Michael Beale’s sacking, the Scottish Premiership side were unable to shake off their recent malaise as they slumped to a 2-1 defeat in Cyprus.
In a game Rangers were expected to dominate, they lacked ideas in possession and made mistakes at the back. It was a new low in a season of lows.
For context, Aris are ranked 293rd in Uefa’s club coefficient rankings, while Rangers are 30th.
You wouldn’t have known it on this showing, and Thompson was scathing in his criticism.
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“Aris Limassol aren’t a top European side,” he said. “They didn’t have to do too much to win against a very poor Rangers team.
“It’s not good enough, plain and simple. It’s a team devoid of confidence. Too many players way below par with their performances.
“To play for Rangers it takes leaders, big characters, players that roll their sleeves up and lead from the front. Not one of those players took that responsibility. They looked to each other for help.
“They needed a reaction. These players have again fallen short of the acceptable standards at Rangers.
“For any potential incoming manager, it’ll be very difficult to get something out of this team. They don’t look like a side that can win games. They’re fragile, lacking confidence and creativity.”
‘All we do at the minute is apologise’
Caretaker manager Steven Davis tried to find positives, but struck a dejected figure after Rangers’ fifth loss of the season.
“Really difficult night because we felt there was a real opportunity to come here and build on the Betis game,” he said.
“I think we caused a lot of our own problems - obviously the two goals we give away we’re really disappointed with and when that happens it gives you a mountain to climb.
“I’ve got to take some responsibility. The first half we kept trying to play in the middle of the pitch which wasn’t really on, they counter-attacked from that and they were good in transitions with the pace they had up front.
“We didn’t do enough to take something from the game but in terms of the effort of the players, I thought they kept going to the end and I couldn’t have asked any more of them in that respect.
“It’s a really quick turnaround and it’s important that we stick together.”
‘Things will turn but we need to stick together’
Connor Goldson lost his man for Aris’ first goal, and says that Rangers have to improve in all departments if they are to turn their fortunes around.
The defender also echoed Davis’ sentiment that togetherness is key for Rangers moving forward.
“It’s obviously not good enough,” he said. “We created chances, didn’t take them and we’re giving away sloppy goals.
“We’re going through a bad spell but it’s the best club in the world to play for when it’s going right so we need to turn this as quickly as we can and the only way you do that is work hard, be a team in everything we do.
“We’re fighting but when you give away easy goals football gets harder. We need to improve fast. For us not to win here is rubbish.
“We have to apologise but that’s all we do at the minute is apologise to our fans. The demands are to win every game and at the moment we’re not doing that.”
What did the fans say?
Ronnie: Where do you start. Sima and Butland apart the rest of the players should hang their heads in shame. Shocking display against a side fifth in Cyprus League. No invention, no pace, no urgency, no heart. Rangers are a mess.
Anon : Awful performance. Only Sima was fit to wear the shirt tonight. No director of football has meant we’ve wasted money. The team have no direction. We will panic and appoint the wrong person as manager.
Dougie : Defence a shambles. Upfront little penetration. It’s the same stuff game after game, what can be said that hasn’t been said for months. I have no confidence in this team.
Tom : I have followed Rangers for 60 years and struggle to think of a worse performance. Disgusted with the lack of heart and commitment to beating a team that would struggle in our third tier.
Anon : What I cannot defend is an established back four looking so disjointed and putting themselves under pressure. The passing was at best shocking at times. We looked scared. This team needs a shake, and soon.
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