Hello, I’m Jack, a passionate Rangers fan and football journalist who lives and breathes Rangers and is always willing to give my two cents on matters at Ibrox.
I will often have an opinion on any issues at the club, no matter how trivial the matter, and will stick by it – I have seen good, bad and ugly times, but what matters most to me is the team on the park and watching them flourish and be successful.
But do I believe the current crop are up to the standards set by the likes of Bill Struth and Walter Smith, can Danny Rohl and the new ownership group return glory to Govan?
Mentality Matters
One constant gripe aimed at the current crop of Rangers players is their lack of mentality. Draws with Motherwell, Hibernian and dead last Livingston seemed to suggest that the squad lacks the stomach for a title fight and last week’s thrown away two goal lead against Celtic seemed to confirm that, but there have been bright sparks.
The second half power play at Parkhead and the humbling of Hearts at Ibrox several weeks ago showed that we can show up – we are just inconsistent.
That inconsistency goes back to the sour summer under Kevin Thelwell, Russell Martin and co, but there has been noticeable improvement on the park since Rohl’s appointment.
Ahead of Sunday’s second Old Firm clash in a week, Rohl addressed the mentality of his side and their hunger to prove doubters wrong.
“I see a group who is really ready to go again and also the belief that we can beat them,” he explained.
Now is their chance to silence doubters and prove they have the mettle the great Rangers sides of yesteryear possessed.
Lessons From the Past
My first season as a Rangers season ticket holder was 2008/09, under the late, great Smith. A season in which, until April, we struggled for consistency and trailed for the majority of the season. If we can repeat that feat this year and strike up a winning run at the business end, we can recapture our league title.
The next two months will be defining, do we have the bottle, do we have what it takes? The time for talk is over – it’s time for action and that starts this Sunday in the Scottish Cup as a large Celtic crowd heads to Ibrox, and it must continue in Paisley next weekend.
John Souttar addressed the mentality of he and his teammates following Sunday’s draw.
He said: “We’ve got to be really clean in the next nine games.
“We’ve got to stand up and we’ve got to win and we can’t afford slip-ups.
“Hearts are six points so it’s up to them and we’ve got to hope they drop points because we’ve got to win every game.
“But I’d say ask us at the end of the season and judge us then.”
Two wins in the next two will show if we can return to our rightful place as Scotland’s most successful team, if we can once again bask in the bragging rights that we have had slip away so often in recent times and if we once again can be Simply the Best.
