Robin Propper claims Rangers have NOT gone backwards since their Old Firm triumph.
But the Dutch defender does admit he’s struggling to figure out why the stuttering Ibrox side are trapped in reverse gear on the road. Thursday night’s dismal draw at Dundee was the fourth away game on the trot that Philippe Clement’s Gers have slipped up away from Ibrox. The result was the latest in a long line if letdowns for the frustrated Ibrox support, who have now watched their team drop 20 points from the 33 available on opposition territory. Yet the 1-1 stalemate came just a week on from a scintillating derby display which finally saw the Light Blues get one over on Celtic at the seventh attempt under Clement.
Asked if Gers had gone backwards from that 3-0 Hoops victory, Propper insisted: “No, of course not. It was a big game, it’s a different game than the games we play now. These are away games with different opponents. I think you need to play a different kind of football. We need to find a solution for this one.”
But Propper confessed he wasn’t quite sure why Gers have struggled to replicate their home form – where they have spilled only two points this term – at the other Premiership grounds. He said: “That we dropped points is hard to take again, especially in an away game.
“Of course, we need to be better, we need to finish off our chances, we need to have more chances. And the goals we concede, it’s too easy again. We need to find a solution for that as quickly as possible.
“It’s difficult to say [why this keeps happening]. We try really hard, everybody wants it. We want to take three points, we want to be happy and cheering with the fans, of course.
“They are there for us again in many ways. It’s hard to take, I don’t know, it’s difficult to say what’s happening. Of course I understand their frustration, I’m frustrated as well. Everybody is frustrated because we want to win, we want to have the three points.
“And we are much better than this, I know that for sure. We need to find a solution in that. That will come from everybody. Everybody wants it, everybody is talking to each other, is doing the best they can.
“We need to find a solution to keep providing the goals we are getting. We need to be better in the last half, I think. You see it as well in the second half, we can play football, we can drive the opponent back. In the end, it’s the details that make the difference. We have to win those games.”
With their bitter rivals now 15 points clear at the top, Thursday’s Dens draw proved to be too much for the irate Ibrox legions. They let rip at Clement, telling the beleaguered Belgian where to go as he made his way over to the travelling support at full-time.
His position is now back under major scrutiny just days after he thought he’d bought himself so respite with that win over Celtic. Clement believes he still has the backing of the board – and Propper insists the squad also remain right behind the manager.
He said: “We are a team, we are together in this. That’s the only thing I can say about it. We are confident that we can get out of this situation, that we can win these away games.
“We are confident to react on this. Apparently, we need the time because it’s happening again. But we are a team, we are together in this.
“We are doing our best and everybody is in this. We try to do everything to win this kind of game, the gaffer as well.”
With captain James Tavernier and his deputy Jack Butland injured and stand-in skipper Nico Raskin suspended, Propper was handed the armband. But the former FC Twente captain couldn’t lead Gers to the result they craved.
And he admits that was hard to take. “This is the biggest club I’ve played for, so of course the amount of scrutiny, that’s more of course,” he explained. “As a player, you always have difficult moments, you lose some, you win some.
“In the end, it’s how you react. We can do that as a team, we have a great team, we have great players. Only we need to find a solution, that last part, to win those games. Then everybody can be happy.”