Once again when they needed a required a win under pressure, this current Rangers team failed to deliver.
For a third game in succession they fell to defeat, this time to a below-par Celtic side who now look set to win another Premiership title.
Culpruit one: Danny Rohl
Danny Rohl called for “control” and “good game management” ahead of the clash, but neither was evident.
Just like the defeat to Hearts on Monday at Tynecastle, the German was bamboozled by a half-time redirection from the opposing dugout, and once again they threw away a lead with a meek surrender.
I personally defended Danny Rohl in the wake of that loss. I no longer can. Rangers now need a full reset ahead of next season, both on the park and in the dugout.
Rohl reignited this side after his appointment in October, but the bar set prior was so low that how could he not produce an upturn.
Against any decent Celtic side of the past decade since the Gers return to the top flight, the current form and points tally would have had Rangers nowhere near a title race.
They got back into it with some decent form, but nothing spectacular.
Now, after the split, when five wins would have crowned them champions, three defeats have confirmed a third-place finish.
Their worst finish since before Steven Gerrard arrived at Ibrox in 2018.
Failing to match up to previous failures
And indeed, the standards, after years of neglect, have returned to those pre-Gerrard levels seen under Graeme Murty and Pedro Caixinha.
Rohl said post match that he felt Rangers matched Celtic today, despite the 3-1 negative scoreline.
“I think we saw a game that was very competitive,” he said.
“Both teams had momentum during the game, but finally we lost the game.”
But the issue is not simply in the loss to Celtic, it was the manner of it.
It was the same defeat we have seen in Old Firm matches for four years now.
When Rangers need a win, they cannot deliver.
When the pressure is on, they falter.
If expectations are low, they can somehow drop below the most miniscule of expectations.
Michael Beale, Phillipe Clement, and in the Premiership Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, all faced the same plight as the former Sheffield Wednesday manager now does.
The tactical inexperience
Rangers cannot win when the pressure is on.
And it is not simply contained to the Old Firm, which is the most damning indictment of Rohl.
On Monday evening we seen him fail to react to a half-time tactical shift from Hearts’ boss Derek McInnes, a coach seen as beneath the Ibrox top job by many.
He was outclassed by a manager who has spent his entire career prior to the current one failing to deliver himself.
Now, only six days later, Rohl has repeated the same miscalculations.
Martin O’Neill shows up Danny Rohl
Martin O’Neill was a great manager in his day, but that day is well over a decade out of fashion.
He was let go by Nottingham Forest seven years ago for “outdated methods,” yet those methods of fight, grit and desire were enough to dominate Rangers today.
The current crop at Celtic Park do not even match up to his Hoops sides during his first spell in charge across the city.
“Martin’s teams back in the day was a totally different animal from team today,” said Bob Malcom, who faced off with O’Neill’s sides in the past.
“They were bigger, stronger, faster and could play as well.
“The Celtic team now maybe play a bit better football technically but are not as ruthless or as dominating physically.”
Yet, against this spineless group of Ibrox ‘stars’ they looked as dominant as ever.
And that comes down the coach.
The numbers don’t add up
Much has been made of Rohl’s record since his arrival to replace Russell Martin.
But it now sits at just 55% in terms of win ratio.
For comparisons sake, Beale departed with 72%, Clement 64%.
Even Pedro Caixinha at 54% sits just below the 37-year-old at present and could overtake him before the season is out.
Rohl brought us out the doldrums of Martin, but has made it obvious he is not the man to take Rangers on to the next level.
Rangers podcaster David Edgar posted on social media following the defeat.
“If Danny Rohl had come in as an interim in October, would you be offering him the job permanently based on performance?” he asked.
The answer is unequivocally no.
Culprit two: The ‘leadership group’
But the buck does not stop at the head coach.
The leadership group within the squad needs completely gutted.
James Tavernier was subbed off in his final Old Firm derby after an hour, after being given the runaround by an average Celtic winger in Yang Hyun-jun.
He will leave Ibrox this summer, three years past his sell by date.
But he should not be alone.
Jack Butland needs to go, his distribution once again today hampered Rangers ability to get out of their own half, with his aimless kicks up field being easily turned over by a mediocre Celtic backline of Austin Trusty and Liam Scales.
John Souttar, absent again today with yet another injury, has been way off form this season and has shown no leadership qualities to merit his role as vice-captain.
The decision to extend his deal by a further year now looks like sheer desperation and delusion.
Nico Raskin and Mohamed Diomande can be good players on their day, but those days are too few and far between.
The pair have two-years left on their respective deals and it is time to cash in on both this summer.
They have both been part of too many Rangers sides who have fallen short when it truly matters.
Squad players not up to standard
Connor Barron, who has been a standout for Rangers this year, also showed that he is not up to the standard of a starting Ranger.
His first touch and inability to pass the ball under pressure allowed Celtic’s midfield to stride forward today.
He also needs to be cut loose after two years of failure.
There also needs to be a cull of supporting cast members.
Your Yousef Chermiti’s, Tuur Rommens’, Emmanuel Fernandez’s and Tochi Chukwuani’s all have the makings of players with the capacity to make it at Ibrox.
But they need proper leaders around them, something Tavernier, Souttar and co simply are not.
The rest of the squad is filled with players who simply are not up to the mental standards of club required to win and dominate both physically and mentally every week.
Thelo Aasgaard and Djeidi Gassama are symptomatic of this.
Good players at small clubs, completely out of their depths at Ibrox.
As are the mishmash of loanees bar Mikey Moore who fill the squad.
Culprit three: The recruitment team
One or two temporary boosts are fine at Ibrox, but a litany of five or six is simply overkill and these players know when the going gets tough, they just need to bury their heads till they return to their parent clubs.
The recruitment issues that have plagued Rangers since the 55-season have truly come home to roost today.
The squad is filled with the failed ideas of a merry-go-round of managers and sporting directors.
We have six-figures worth of weekly wages out on loan due to repeated failures of those in charge of bringing bodies in to identify the needs of a Rangers player.
And one final word for the calamitous day the Rangers social media account had.
Glorifying Celtic Park, opening the club and therefore the support up to further ridicule from the other side.
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The standards across the board have never been lower.
It is time for the Ibrox hierarchy to take a stand.
To correct the wrongs from their first season.
To start afresh.
Players, staff and the head coach need wiped.
So that for the first time since 2018, we can truly start over and build Rangers back into the institution the name expects and the supporters deserve.
