Sitting eighth in a 36-team table with some European giants, above the likes of Manchester United, Tottenham and Roma and just three points behind leaders Lazio.
Yet third in the Scottish Premiership – the 11-point gap to leaders Celtic the same as it is to Kilmarnock who are sitting in tenth.
THREE goals in the first half away to the team sitting fifth in France’s Ligue 1 – that’s one more than in FIVE domestic away games combined. Honestly, if Philippe Clement had any hair then he would have been pulling it out on Thursday because I know many Rangers fans are. The 4-1 win against Nice on Thursday night was a sensational result and I won’t listen to anyone trying to play it down because of the home side. That’s a team unbeaten in eight games in one of the Big Five leagues in Europe.
No, instead, from a Rangers point of view it has to be the blueprint. I’m starting to sound like a broken record but that’s the standard they have set and they must stick to it. Not only in Europe, but domestically as well.
No disrespect to Perth, but the Fair City must be as far removed from the Cote d’Azur as you can get. And McDiarmid Park on a freezing Sunday lunchtime in November a far cry from the Allianz Riviera. But St Johnstone this weekend is the bread and butter for Rangers. And these players MUST transform their European form into the Premiership.
In the previous game against Olympiacos I watched the impressive performance in Athens and I was thinking ‘take this into Hearts on Sunday’ but it was like two different teams as they scraped a 1-0 win.
I was at the Dundee United game on Saturday and it was below par – there was no tempo or aggression – but only slightly better in the second half so you were worried going to Nice – and then they go and put that performance on. But I need to see that at noon in Perth. You have to have a level of consistency. You can be off at times but you need to get about the pitch and be aggressive and force visitors to Ibrox.
That’s what stood out for me – there was a real lack of intensity. The changes at half time helped a bit but against Nice the intensity was there for 90 minutes. You need that in every game.
It’s impossible to play well in every game – players aren’t robots – but you can show is a real appetite and they showed it in abundance in France. Let’s look at the reasons why there could be this contrast. It’s one of two things: mentality or tactics. It is the case when you come up against teams domestically that you’re playing against compact sides who get men behind the wall but you have to find a way.
But there shouldn’t be a different mindset between the two. When you meet up on day one of pre-season it’s outline that the league is the No. 1 priority.
It’s brilliant playing in Europe and it makes a lot of money for the club but the league is your bread and butter – and that includes bobbly pitches.
Life as a Rangers players is learning to adjust. I know now they’ll need to roll their sleeves up against St Johnstone. I know Philippe Clement talks about new players but they’ve had time.
I’ve been in dressing rooms where players take time to adjust but we’re 12 games in and they have to understand where they are at and what the demands and expectations are. It’s funny but this contrast between Europe and domestic is quite familiar because when Paul Le Guen came in we performed well in Europe but not domestically.
I actually remember losing 1-0 at home to Inverness early on in that season – and then days later made history by becoming the first Scottish team to win on Italian soil with a 3-2 victory at Livorno.
Why was that? I’ll be honest. We weren’t a good enough team to adjust. In Europe you sometimes get more time on the ball but Scottish football is a different ball game. I know the standard isn’t as good as other leagues but it’s a tough place to play and every game teams will try and rough you up.
Thinking back, a lot of the players who came in at that time just couldn’t adjust to the physical nature of Scottish football and the demands of Rangers. For this current crop, the blueprint was Thursday night in the south of France
I’m sure Philippe Clement would have been saying the same in the dressing room after the game, that he was delighted with the result but that the challenge is to go about their business like that in every game.
St Johnstone will be buoyant after a good win against Kilmarnock last weekend and a new manager in the door. They will get in Rangers faces so they need a repeat and I would go with the same team.
I loved Hamza Igamane’s rawness and work ethic. He will frustrate at times with his wee tricks and flicks but he worked his socks off, he was strong and annoys defenders. He’s got a taste of it.
Looking ahead in Europe, Tottenham are next up at home. I see some people saying the manager should rest players with the Cup final against Celtic a few days later.
I understand players might be carrying wee niggles or a bit tired but you have to go strong both games. Hampden will take care of itself – once you sample that atmosphere you don’t need motivation.
You have two days to recover and players are well looked after these days – it’s not like me who couldn’t move from the couch for two days after my recent Masters appearance. But I’m 46!
Listen, if you can’t get up for that week then you’d be as well packing your bags. What I would do to turn the clock back 20 years.