Barry Ferguson has labelled Rangers’ first half display at Aberdeen as ALARMING – and has told them what they MUST deliver against Motherwell at Hampden this weekend.
Philippe Clement is under increased fan pressure after his Light Blues went down 2-1 at Pittodrie to fall nine points behind Jimmy Thelin’s troops. They are matching champions Celtic stride for stride with both sides boasting nine wins and one draw from their first 10 Scottish Premiership matches. The Belgian boss faced the media today ahead of the Premier Sports Cup semi-final and stated he is ‘very confident’ he has the backing of the hierarchy at the club and hasn’t sought any assurances.
Looking back to Pittodrie, club legend Ferguson says it was nowhere near good enough and said the performance from Rangers lacked bite and desire. Speaking on Go Radio, the Record Sport columnist revealed he will be in attendance at the national stadium and has warned his old club must deliver on THREE key areas in order to be successful in what he says won’t be an easy game.
He explained: “I thought looking at the game, and this is my personal opinion, the first half performance was alarming. The second half for a 20-25 minute period when it began was ok. Aberdeen get the second goal to go 2-1 up and Rangers had a chance right at the death with James Tavernier’s header.
“But overall it just wasn’t good enough. It was nowhere near a performance that you’d expect from a Rangers team going up, knowing that Aberdeen are already six points ahead of you with an opportunity to go nine.
“I already spoke about it Monday and Wednesday. My mindset would be that is never happening. But look, Aberdeen are nine points in front along with Celtic. But overall the performance was just not good enough. Aberdeen deserved the three points. When I was sitting watching it, there is a lot of words I could use to describe the performance. No bite, no desire. I was shocked.
“That’s the way it was. Aberdeen came out victorious and now Rangers have a huge game on Sunday. I will be there and I need to wait and see what type of performance this Rangers team puts out because it needs to be a performance full of grit, determination and everything.
“It won’t be an easy game against Motherwell. They had a fantastic result at Tannadice midweek. I’ve seen them a few times and it will be a tough one.”
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