Either they didn’t quite understand the memo or something was lost in translation.
But if someone has ordered Philippe Clement’s players to start doing their talking on the pitch then the chances are, they almost certainly didn’t mean it literally. On Sunday, during an increasingly restless second half against Hibs, new boy Vaclav Cerny was the latest to become embroiled in trading verbals with a techy home support after playing the ball backwards when they wanted him to go the other way.
Moments later the Czech was hooked by Clement and given some choice words from the boss before he made it on to the bench. But he’s not the only one to have nibbled on the bait during what has been a tumultuous – and often bad tempered – few months on Glasgow’s south side. Cyriel Dessers has been in danger of making a habit of biting back, skipper James Tavernier was targeted by an angry mob following a shellacking from Celtic and even as far back as last season the preposterous Fabio Silva flew off the handle when he ought to have been keeping his head down.
All of which points to a strained relationship between a group of pampered players who stand accused of consistently underachieving and a set of supporters whose patience is bubbling away at round about breaking point. In fact, if Clement’s men are serious about winning over hearts and minds then it’s probably better they stop running off at the mouth and start going for a few jugulars instead.
That’s certainly the lesson Kieran Dowell took away from Ibrox at the weekend as Rangers huffed and puffed their way to a fourth consecutive win, amidst a considerable amount of moaning and groaning from the stands.
Who knows? Cerny may have been speaking for the entire dressing room when he reacted to it by throwing a tantrum on the touchline. It was only on Thursday night, after all, that Rangers treated these same supporters to a monumental Europa League win in Malmo.
But Dowell is smart enough to recognise this is an argument that can’t be won – and a fight these players don’t need to pick. Speaking after the 1-0 win over Hibs which leaves his side trailing both Celtic and Aberdeen by five points the Scouser said: “Obviously after a tough week, going to Malmo in midweek, it was one of those games that you have to grind out in the end. There were a lot of tired legs. Credit to a lot of the lads, they had to put in a shift this week. Like I said, it was all about grinding out the results and we did that in the end.”
Asked if some of the new arrivals, such as Cerny, need to become accustomed to the demands of the support Dowell said: “I don’t know, I don’t know. I think maybe in the moment, he’s probably had a long week himself. He might have felt a bit leggy and thought, ‘I can’t do that one’.
“But we all know coming to this club that the demand is to play forward and try and score goals and attack. I think that the manager is of the same mindset as that. So I’m not sure what happened with Vaclav, maybe it was just a moment in the game, but we’re all on the same page that we want to go forward whenever possible.”
Cerny may have kept possession at a critical stage in a match which was on a knife’s edge. But Dowell has been around the club long enough to know that won’t cut it when the fans are demanding so much more.
Asked if Rangers need to adopt a more ruthless, relentless approach to winning football matches he went on: “Yeah, I think so, yeah. I think since the manager has come in, that’s the way he wants to play football.
“But again, on Sunday there were times where he probably felt he just needed to get a bit more control of the game in their half. So it’s different options for different moments in the game. But yeah, definitely at this club, that’s what you want to be doing.”
Dowell, of course, has had a lot of time to acclimatise to his surroundings over the last year or so, having spent most of it sitting in the same stands as the supporters. But, bit by bit, he’s beginning to break into Clement’s plans and he produced another cameo from the bench on Sunday after replacing Nicolas Raskin at half time.
He said: “I’m just looking to take as many chances as I can and build a bit of rhythm in my performances. Obviously it’s well known, the last year has been tough. So any game time on the pitch I can get and I’m buzzing with.
“To be honest, it’s a cliche answer but I’ll play anywhere for the team. I’ve always seen myself growing up as one of those from three behind the striker. I’ve probably played a lot more as a centre midfielder since coming to Rangers, through injuries and opportunities and stuff like that.
“Like I said earlier, it was great to be on the pitch. We did want to go a bit more attacking, which is probably why you can bring me on to link that midfielder to attack. But yeah, I enjoy playing centre midfielder as well. It’s another position I’ve learnt since coming here.”