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meThey are the great unspeakable Rangers. The offense associated with last season’s reduction in Scotland was fixed, as is sadly customary, at the Old Firm. The Rangers had a game in hand, but were 13 points behind Celtic when the time came. If there was legitimacy for complaints about the Scottish Professional League’s handling of this situation, broader issues were at stake. The Rangers’ support could degrade Celtic’s collection for a ninth straight title. If the club’s hierarchy could shift the focus from a post-New Year crash, even better. He whispers, but such a bitter end to last season did the Rangers a favor.
A look at the Rangers’ situation in early March emphasizes that point. A 1-0 win at Ross County followed relegation-threatened defeats to Hearts, namely a Scottish Cup exit, and Hamilton. Despite winning at Celtic on December 29, the Rangers were subsequently defeated at Tynecastle and Rugby Park. Only one point was taken at St Johnstone. Hamilton’s victory at Ibrox, the second there since 1926, ensured palpable anger among Glasgow’s blue half. Celtic were galloping towards the championship.
James Tavernier, the Rangers captain, delivered an extraordinary, given the platform, a set of program notes that admitted: “Whenever someone pushes us a little bit in Scotland or confronts us, it seems to affect us too much. At the beginning of the season they left us teams and we were scoring four or five goals, but now they smell blood right away and they put pressure on us. We are not good enough nationally to react to that. “
He does not need the services of Taggart to decipher the reaction of the fans towards Tavernier, who at the time had been at Ibrox for almost five years without receiving a great honor. The feeling on the side seemed indicative of overall smoothness.
When the lockout hit and Steven Gerrard slipped off to Merseyside, the manager was saved from caustic analysis if the Rangers, as seemed inevitable, ended a season adrift from Celtic. The Rangers’ failures were even more severe given parity with their city rivals that was achieved in late December and rising staffing costs, revealed at £ 43 million in recently published accounts. Gerrard’s star factor has mesmerized the Rangers’ support, but managers tend not to fare well in this environment having endured back-to-back sterile seasons. Instead, due to exceptional circumstances, the focus changed.
So did the Rangers fortune. A big compliment towards Gerrard is now valid. Rangers host Celtic on Saturday undefeated in the Scottish Premiership and apparently on their way to the title. Celtic have only lost once, but the removal of the fragility from the Rangers game, even with regard to Tavernier, the favorite for Scotland’s player of the year, has meant a resounding change. In 21 league games, Rangers have conceded five goals. Whatever version of the reset button Gerrard pressed between March and August, it worked.
“We’ve been successful in this game the last two seasons, but we haven’t built on it,” the Rangers manager said Friday. “We have not been the best version of ourselves since the new year in the last two seasons.”
It seems strange to think of Gerrard so remotely out of sight. However, the League Cup defeat in December at St Mirren, which ensured another national cup would elude it, was not really recorded on a larger scale. If the Rangers beat Celtic, extending their lead to 19 surely impregnable points even with Neil Lennon’s men with three games in hand, the broader perceptions of Gerrard will be totally positive.
The Rangers’ formidable performances in the Europa League in successive seasons have played a role. And those impressions count; On a reasonable basis, Gerrard’s big plan is to lead Liverpool, he must demonstrate his ability to lead a great club. Outsiders ignore Scottish knockout competitions when Celtic win them, which means the Rangers’ shortcomings are not seen as defining. Except, that is, to the club, which has not been very successful since the financial implosion of 2012.
“We are not really focused on the leaders at the top,” Gerrard said. “This is an opportunity to score three points.”
Gerrard’s recruitment, initially as a pistol, has improved, with the benefit of increasing resources. As Celtic struggled in the summer market, Kemar Roofe’s arrival at Ibrox was significant. Most notable with regard to evaluating Gerrard’s coaching credentials, however, has been the development of Tavernier, Glen Kamara, Ryan Jack, Connor Goldson and Ryan Kent, in addition to the rejuvenation of Steven Davis. “We couldn’t go into this game in a better place,” Gerrard said. It is difficult to disagree.
Gerrard has reflected Brendan Rodgers’ approach by avoiding individual interviews with Scottish journalists. That contradicts the tradition of successful Rangers managers, just as it denies viewers a chance to get to know Gerrard’s thread of ideas. If Celtic are sent off at Ibrox, the Rangers will be on the home straight. The rejuvenation will be close to completion.
