The First Step

 

Following on from my piece yesterday, “The Trials to be Overcome”, the most frequent response was a very good one.

 

After I said it was simply a matter, of when, not if, we reach the top of Scottish football again, I was asked: well how is it we do that? A more than fair question, and although we are all sure the time will come for Rangers to take their place on the top of the pile once more, that does not mean we won’t have to work for it.

 

A quick scan of this year, and yes, we have done what we set out to do. The league flag is coming home and the first hurdle on the road back to top league has been overcome. However, if we were to view this as an exam, it is bordering on the “C-“ result, as quite simply, it has been as adequate as possible for the majority of the proceedings.

 

Nothing has embodied that notion like this past Saturday. In fact, it was quite frankly shambolic, and on that showing, the idea that returning to the top is simply academic at the moment could have one scratching their head.

 

It is difficult to keep emotions in tact when watching the performance, as “gutless”, “spineless”, “lack of ideas”, “worn out” and “uninspired” is what comes to mind when looking at that team. The result was never in doubt, and there was a severe lack of leadership. There was no-one to put that tackle in, give the players the wakeup call they needed – no-one to take the game by the scruff of the neck. Now, of course the side was missing their captain and leader, Lee McCulloch, but it is slightly disheartening if there is no-one capable of stepping into that role.

 

Saturday was not a wakeup call. The wakeup call occurred months ago – the alarm was simply switched to sleep mode. Nothing has changed. The style has not changed, the personnel have changed very little, and most importantly, many attitudes have not changed.

Now, I feel we all know what the “right” and “wrong” attitudes are for footballers, and right now, I feel this is the crux of the problem that needs to be solved. For me, something stinks at the moment, and in many cases, it is not footballing qualities. Don’t get me wrong, this is the weakest squads of players I have ever seen at Ibrox, but let’s put that into context of the league we are in – is it technically the strongest ever squad in that regard? We can even take the Dundee Utd game out of it, and it simply hasn’t been good enough. Games have been scraped through and points have been dropped. Now, I know this is going to be the case against players treating these matches as the biggest of their careers. It was inevitable some would make life tough for us and games would be close, but it has become far too much of a recurring theme. This is the only professional squad in the league, and still the second highest paid one in Scotland. Yet it is consistently delivering par-standard performances.

 

Ask yourself this; when did you last feel truly satisfied by a performance from a Rangers team? It is not acceptable and the fans that on a weekly basis pay to see the team, deserve better.

 

So why is there such an attitude problem? A league won already? Well the Scottish Cup certainly wasn’t, and this squad went out with a whimper. Is it coaching methods? Or is there a lack of harmony within the squad? Inflated egos perhaps?

 

In truth, I don’t claim to know what is going on behind the scenes at Auchenhowie, but it could easily be a mixture of all of the above. What I see is a group of players who feel their job is complete already, and have regressed into a shell of apathy and disinterest. It has manifested into the team, and was why Saturday was such a write-off and an embarrassment to Rangers fans across the globe.

 

We may have a team that will get the club through the next two and a half years, but that is simply not enough. Behind every successful club is a group of fans, and a product has to be available to keep those fans interested. Sure, the opposition may not be world-class, but that does not mean that they should be bereft of entertaining and motivated football. This is not happening, and it is appearing to be nigh-on impossible to achieve at the moment. These may be changed times, but there is still a level of class and dignity to be upheld at Ibrox, and I believe the crux of the problem lies in completely the wrong attitude.

 

There will be time to start discussing tactics and such, but such conversation is fruitless if the attitude is not right. We all have our own opinions on what tactics McCoist should be using; whether it be 4-4-2, 4-2-3-1 or otherwise, but that is the next level of the debate. The tactics are irrelevant if the attitude is not right, and in reality, the tactics should not even matter if the players are in the right frame of mind. Either tactics should be providing much more comfortable results. If this cannot happen, the changes have to be made. Are some players simply at Ibrox to pick up a wage, or is Ally incapable of motivating his players? Is he more of a “leader of the club” rather than a coach? It is not for me to decide where the issues lie, it is for those at the club to decide what the problem is, and if I am being honest, I feel come the summer, there should be a major change in the landscape. For now though, we have to deal with what we have. I feel this year has been a bit of a waste, but it is also not over. It is time to freshen up the squad, and give the current underachievers something to think about. The idea that players can “earn” their thousands of pounds each week simply by turning up has to be eradicated by the time the summer has arrived. If these players cannot accept that, others will. And if McCoist simply cannot motivate these players, the coaching situation must also be closely reviewed.

 

The Rangers support may have accepted the position the club currently finds themselves in, but that does not mean that poor attitudes and weekly shocking performances can be acceptable to the fans. The price of season tickets are set to rise this summer, and fans will still need a portion of motivation to convince them to part with their hard-earned money.

 

After all, this is a two-way street.