Kevin Thomson could not believe how disappointing Rangers were when they lost to Hearts.
Russell Martin's side got their first league win of the season on the board at the weekend but did it with little to spare, as Max Aarons' stoppage time winner earned a 2-1 victory over Livingston.
It came after a Premier Sports Cup win over Hibs, setting up a semi-final clash with Celtic, but prior to that their last Premiership outing was a 2-0 home defeat to the Tynecastle side. It carried on a poor start to the season, making it five league games without a victory.
Derek McInnes' side were worthy winners and former Ibrox midfielder Thomson was taken aback by the poor display of the home side.
Especially given Martin had declared they would be better once the transfer window was clossed and all his business was concluded.
Thomson said: “When I watched them against Hearts I couldn't believe how poor they were.
“I was doing Rangers TV and I heard the manager say that the window was shut, the new signings had come in, the international break meant they had more time on the grass and there was an energy in training.
“Then I watched them against Hearts and I thought, ‘Wow’. I couldn't believe how poor they were.
“I’ve watched Celtic play poorly and they win games and the only way you can change that narrative really is by winning games.
“I’ve probably not seen enough because it's there for everyone to see – one win in six, where they're sitting in the league is not what you want to see for a Rangers or Celtic team, they expect to be at the top, they want to be at the top.
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“I'm not so sure Celtic are at their brilliant best either, so if you were chasing a team that were sitting at the top of the league you would hope that Hearts might have a few more hiccups than Celtic.
“If Celtic had started with a clean slate you could almost be talking about the league being over. The good thing is I don't think either team are capable of going and winning 15-20 games in advance.”
The manager's tactics and approach to the game are under intense scrutiny because they are not getting him results - and he has been accused of being stubborn and set in his ways.
However, Thomson insits there has to be a willingness from the players to work harder and run further than their opponents. He feels the current team lacks that and, as a result, a fear factor.
He added: “I say it all the time, we had the greatest manager that will ever live, when I was at Rangers, and we only were really cute when it came to tactical stuff, when it came to playing in Champions League or playing in Old Firm games.
“In domestic games, and we had massive respect for the opposition or we wouldn't be where we were, we went on the pitch thinking that we had 11 better players and we had to win.
“You stand in the tunnel and it's the old one when you eye up your opposition – ‘I think I'm better than you’ – but obviously if you don't run hard, don't tackle hard, don't do all the basics that's expected of you, a player who’s lesser than you can get the upper hand on you.
“If you're a good player and you do all the basics right then nine times out of ten you come out on top.
“Unfortunately, at the moment I look at that Rangers team and I think to myself the fear factor that should be there, probably isn’t there and that gives the opposition an even greater hand.”
• Chris Sutton, Kris Boyd and Steven Naismith feature as the hosts of The Warm-Up, William Hill’s weekly YouTube show and podcast. Check out the latest episodes here: https://www.youtube.com/@WilliamHillSPFL
