Nothing sharpens the focus on shortcomings like defeat in a city derby. Which, in the case of Rangers, is not to say those issues did not exist before. The club’s return to the Premiership had been at best a slow‑burner before matters came crashing down around Mark Warburton’s ears.
Last week he returned to the issue of what he perceives as negative coverage of Rangers’ start to the season. He might be best served spending the coming days in a Buddhist retreat. The merits of the manager’s point aside, his key problem now is discord will emanate from another, more damaging source: the club’s own supporter base. Worse Rangers teams than the one who took the field at Celtic Park on Saturday have not been subjected to a 5-1 trouncing at the hands of their oldest adversaries. Capitulation was the response to a Celtic showing that was probably seven out of 10.
That Rangers are in this position, of eight points from five matches and a generally unconvincing state, has three reasons. First, the obscene signing policy of 2012, with wages of £7,000 a week bestowed on players when Rangers were consigned to the bottom tier of the Scottish game, removed any possibility of adequate planning in terms of personnel and cash reserves.
Second, Warburton’s recruitment has been highly questionable, his failure to address glaring shortcomings in central defence incredible for a manager of his ability. In a broader context, few of Rangers’ players look like assets. One player who is, Barrie McKay, has had a troubled start to the season, which to be fair Warburton could not have legislated for. Likewise, Martyn Waghorn’s injury has blunted Rangers’ attacking threat.
Were Joey Barton called Hamish MacTavish and a summer arrival from Montrose, he would not have been less conspicuous against Celtic. Barton’s signing has been a disaster, the former Burnley man slowing down a team badly in need of the pace which, when applied last season, made Rangers look a strong side. One picture doing the rounds tells a thousand words: of Celtic’s captain, Scott Brown, staring through Barton as the pair exchange pre-match handshakes. Barton’s eyes are fixed on the turf.
Niko Kranjcar is so slow he had to be removed at half-time before another of his lumbering tackles triggered a second yellow card. Kranjcar may have exceptional talent but this is a more competitive environment than the veterans series he looks more suited to.
Third, Warburton is open to criticism of being one-dimensional. The use of a 4-3-3 formation against Celtic was not so much bold as reckless. Defenders overplayed. The team lacked energy. When 3-1 down, Warburton insisted he had to chase the game when moving to a three-man defence. Andy Halliday, who had starred in the Scottish Cup semi-final victory against Celtic in April, did not start to the bemusement of onlookers. If Halliday had been out of sorts, that owes plenty to his deployment in a more attacking midfield position than is his forte. He should have been the first name on Warburton’s derby teamsheet.
However, Warburton is due sympathy in one regard. No other promoted team would be expected to challenge for a title or accept scrutiny in the manner of Rangers. That, of course, owes everything to historical status.
Nonetheless, it should not be a leap of faith for Rangers, while obviously trailing Celtic on and off the field, to prove vastly superior to the rest of the Premiership. Resources alone dictate that much; no other side outside of Celtic could afford £1.8m for Joe Garner and his £12,000-a-week salary even before the contracts of Barton, Kranjcar, Philippe Senderos, Clint Hill and others are taken into account.
Warburton’s adage is a simple one: “Judge us in May.” This is fair enough but the harsh reality is the manager will not see the end of the season with Rangers if his team continue to sleepwalk through their campaign. Patience is not a commodity associated with the Old Firm.
It is also perfectly reasonable to make an early season assessment. A year ago Hearts, with a fraction of Rangers’ resource, emerged from the second tier to win their first five Premier League games. Rangers’ fixture list has not exactly been arduous, in what is essentially a poor league, but they had dropped points to Hamilton and Kilmarnock even before their Celtic debacle.
“We just have to work harder,”Warburton in the immediate aftermath of the derby loss. “When you have adversity, work harder. The fans won’t take that and we won’t take that either. At Ibrox next week, we won’t accept anything other than a victory. We are much better than we showed today. We have to be.”
Ross County are the visitors on Saturday. A humdrum fixture suddenly has deep meaning; Warburton has an agitated following to bring back on side.
