Rangers fell to yet another damaging defeat yesterday, losing to Celtic at Parkhead to end any hopes of a title win and ensure a third-placed finish for Danny Rohl’s side.
The Ibrox club took the lead early in the match thanks to Mikey Moore but crumbled under intense Celtic pressure and tactical adjustments, a recent trait of Rohl and his team.
Manny Fernandez faces up
Defender Manny Fernandez faced up to the media and assessed the collapse during the match, and of the Gers season.
“It’s hard because I feel like we’re in a good position,” he said.
“We took the lead early and then we let a goal back and I think we kind of slumped down a bit.”
Leadership shines through the pain
Despite being in his first season at Rangers, Fernandez showed the hurt of a leader, taking personal blame for the defeat rather than passing the buck.
“But certain things like this happen in football and I feel like maybe for me personally, as I’m a centre-back, I need to bring my team up,” he explained.
“I need to talk to my players, keep us going, maybe slow down the game in moments, maybe speed up the game.
“Maybe that’s something I need to improve on to get the better out of my teammates. And look, we’ve lost this game, but there’s still opportunities next season and there’s still two games we can still win.
“I feel like that’s something we need to do.”
At just 24-years-old and in his first season of top-level football, Fernandez has shown the maturity absent from a lot of the Ibrox ‘leadership group.’
How many interviews have been played over the past few years of Ibrox failure where the usual suspects trip out the textbook “disappointed” lines, making false promises of “learning from it” and of “doing better” moving forward?
The collapse of Rangers’ season
He went on further to try and sum up the recent downturn that has led Rangers to fall to three consecutive defeats.
“I couldn’t pinpoint an issue. I just feel like, I can’t say we’ve been unlucky, but I feel like maybe we needed to have a bit more fight, I couldn’t really pinpoint something,” he said.
“I can stick for it because there’s certain moments, I probably say I should have defended better, but there’s nothing I can really say about my teammates.
“I’ll probably just say myself, if anything.”
Manny Fernandez apologies to Ibrox support
He made a clear heartfelt message to the fans, not any words of disappointment or promises to learn.
But words of regret and a real willingness to improve in the future, offering evidence to his claims that things can get better.
“I apologise to the fans, first and foremost,” he said.
“I feel like there’s still a lot of strong players here, young players, and the young players now are going to be in their second season.
“Now they can show that they’re really worth it for the second season and they’re going to fight.”
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In many ways, Fernandez’s words cut through the noise that has often surrounded Rangers’ messaging this season.
There was no deflection, no rehearsed optimism, and no attempt to disguise another damaging defeat and failed season.
Instead, there was a raw acknowledgment of responsibility and a recognition that Rangers’ problems are no longer isolated incidents but recurring failures.
His honesty also highlighted a deeper issue within the squad.
The lack of consistent on-pitch leadership when momentum swings against them.
While Fernandez speaks of slowing the game, organising teammates, and raising standards, those are demands that have too often gone unfulfilled across the spine of the team.
For all the frustration of another collapse to Celtic, his comments at least point towards a player unwilling to accept decline as inevitable.
Whether that translates into collective improvement next season remains the defining question for Rohl’s project.
