Jermain Defoe says he has been taken aback by Rangers‘ regression since his Ibrox departure nearly three years ago and admits watching the side’s current slump under Philippe Clement has been ‘tough to watch’.
Saturday’s 1-1 home draw with Dundee United has left the Gers 11 points behind Celtic at the top of the Premiership and eight points behind Aberdeen in second spot. Clement had previously promised that November would be the month where his side would finally kick on, but large sections of the support have now had enough of the Belgian and are calling for a change in the dugout.
Former striker Defoe – who scored 32 goals in 74 matches for the Light Blues – left the club in January 2022 after helping Steven Gerrard’s side lift a record 55th league title in the previous season. The Liverpool legend’s successor Giovanni van Bronckhorst led Rangers to the final of the Europa League just months after Defoe’s departure and the ex-England star concedes he could have not envisaged how far his old team would fall over the next two and a half years.
Speaking to gambling.com, he said: “If you speak to any Rangers fan or ex-players, and if we’re being totally honest, it’s been hard watching it. We won the league when I had the player-coach role, and then after I left the boys came so close to winning the Europa League.
“I looked at it and thought they would kick on the next season, if they kept the core of good young players and experience, and possibly add a few more. But it’s actually gone the other way, and it has been tough to watch, because I try and watch every game. I go to Glasgow quite a bit, and speak to some of the boys.
“I feel like it’s obvious that something needs to change. The players need to try and find their form. The players need to find some sort of consistency.
“There are games up there that people expect them to win, and you can slip-up if you don’t approach with the right frame of mind, and that’s what happened last season. You look at the points that Rangers dropped last season, and they’re games that you would expect them to win convincingly to be honest.”
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