Beaming Ianis Hagi wandered down the tunnel with the deafening roar of a raucous European night ringing in his ears and delivered what’s become his Rangers catchphrase. “Ibrox baby, it’s just different!”
Well, the scenes that wild, windy evening as he inspired a remarkable comeback triumph for Steven Gerrard’s team against Braga back in 2020 could hardly have been in any starker contrast to the dour, sullen events that played out last time Gers played in front of their home support.
The noise levels were cranked up as Philippe Clement’s side clung on for a narrow 1-0 win over Hearts. But this time it was jeers rather than cheers filling the air as the Light Blues legions turned their noses up at their Belgian boss’ decision to hook midfielder Conor Barron. With their team struggling to retain possession, many were stunned to see Clement throw on a succession of defensive subs instead of looking to regain the initiative by turning to someone with the poise and technique of Hagi.
Former Ibrox team-mate Greg Stewart can understand what the manager was up to. But he admits he does struggle to get his head around the talismanic Romanian’s lack of minutes at a time when Rangers are so short on spark. Exiled at the start of the season amid a contract stand-off, Hagi returned to the fold six weeks ago but has been handed just two sub appearances after being forced to serve a two-game ban. Ex-Ger Stewart told Record Sport: “I know what Ianis can do, I know what he brings to the table. OK, with his lack of games lately, maybe he’s still not up to full sharpness.
“You saw that in the St Johnstone game when he was sent-off. I think he got too excited because it was his first game back and got carried away with the tackle But he has that bit of magic. When he’s fit, his numbers are good. He brings goals and assists to the table. I know people wanted to see him come on against Hearts. But what Clement did, trying to shore things up, that’s what Rangers did many a time under Walter Smith. OK it wasn’t pretty, but you win 1-0, you scrape by after a European game against Olympiacos.
“It’s always difficult when you’ve travelled abroad and sometimes your performance is not important, it’s about getting the result. We managed to do that, but we just need to go on a run now. And yeah, I’d like to see Ianis get a run in the team too.”
Stewart saw close up what Hagi is capable of when he’s fit and firing. But it’s been a while since the rest of the Ibrox faithful were given a glimpse of those qualities after Hagi’s Gers career was disrupted by a devastating knee injury and last year’s loan to Alaves.
But Stewart – back playing in India with Mohun Bagan – can still remember with vivid detail the night that Hagi brought Rangers back from the brink against Braga in a Europa League classic. Watched on by his father – former Real Madrid and Barcelona icon Gheorghe – it was Ianis who proved he was Daddy Cool with a key double as Gerrard’s team stunned their Portuguese rivals.
“Aye, that was some buzz when we came back to win,” grinned Stewart “We were 2-0 down but Hagi scored a beauty to get us back in it. I remember the gaffer put Joe Aribo to left-back but the big man scored an absolute worldie dancing through their defence to bring us level. Then Ianis scored with a deflected free-kick and the place just erupted.
“That was that was probably one of my best nights I experienced as a Rangers player. Everyone was going crazy. It was a top, top night. Ianis had his dad there watching. He’d just joined and people were keen to see what he could do – he certainly showed that night.”
There’s not been much for the Ibrox faithful to get excited about lately, however. While they remain a competitive force in the Europa League, they remain stuck in the domestic doldrums, trailing joint leaders Celtic and Aberdeen by nine points.
That’s left Clement clinging to his job as fans long for a return to the days when Rangers were title contenders under Stewart’s old boss Gerrard. But the 34-year-old forward has sympathy for the man trying to hold a fractured club together.
He said: “There’s been a lot of changes to the squad at Ibrox this season. And I agree with what Clement says, it takes time for all of that to settle down. They’ve obviously shown faith in the manager, given him a new contract. Whether that means anything, I don’t know. But I’m a big believer in managers getting time. Obviously, at Rangers, patience is short and often you don’t get that time. But my opinion is that you should back a manager as long as you can.
“He’s been at the club a year now. When I was at the club, we had Steven in charge and he got a lot longer than that to build a winning team. He had that trust – but the crucial thing was that under Gerrard, you could see us getting better. Every year, you could see the progress, that we were going somewhere.
“We were dominating Old Firms. OK, we didn’t win the league during his first two years at the club, but you could see we were competitive. Under Clement, can I see a progression now? Probably not right at this moment. But that’s why he needs the time, because it’s not like it’s the same situation when Steven took over. He had the benefit of a club that was solid at that time, with everyone pulling in the same direction. You can’t say it’s like that now. You have all these directors leaving and a lot of infighting.
“That’s tough for Clement to deal with. I do feel for him because he’s got the wrath of everyone going on around him when he should just be focusing on what’s happening on the pitch.”