- Connor Barron publicly backs head coach Danny Rohl after Rangers’ third consecutive defeat.
- Emmanuel Fernandez also defended Rohl and blamed players for recent performances.
- Rangers face major summer leadership changes with James Tavernier set to depart.
Connor Barron has become the latest Rangers player to publicly back head coach Danny Rohl after a run of three successive defeats.
The midfielder returned to the starting lineup against Celtic on Sunday, his first start since January, but was unable to stop the rot at the Hoops won 3-1 in the Old Firm derby.
That defeat, which followed losses to both Motherwell and Hearts, have left Rohl in an undesirable position with the fans, but Barron still backs his boss.
Connor Barron backs his boss
“We’re all one. He’s been brilliant since I’ve been here, since he came in. He got us into a really good position,” said the 23-year-old.
“We’ve all got to be accountable for our mistakes, us as players, and we’re on the pitch ultimately.
“It’s not been great over the last three games, but we’re all in it together and we need to rectify what we’ve done wrong and go forward.
“We’re all right behind the gaffer and we’re all feeling that we’ve let ourselves down first and foremost in the last few games.
“It’s not been good enough on our part, but we need to bounce back tomorrow with a win.”
Dressing room behind Danny Rohl
This follows on from defender Emmanuel Fernandez’s comments on Sunday, immediately following the defeat.
“I don’t look into what fans say about the manager, but I know I back the manager 100 per cent,” said the Nigerian international.
“I know he got us through moments in the season where everyone thought the season was over and there wouldn’t be a title race for us.
“He got us back into a title race.
“I feel like maybe we went into it with maybe the wrong mind.
“It’s the players that we should take it because maybe we just didn’t do the right job on the pitch.”
The 24-year-old summer signing from Peterborough also took the flack for the defeat to Celtic, saying as a leader, he must shoulder some portion of blame.
This was echoed by former Aberdeen midfielder Barron.
“I see myself as a leader on the pitch and off the pitch as well,” he explained.
“I do think there is plenty of leaders in there. We’ve all just got to be accountable for everything we do.”
Vote of confidence from Andrew Cavenagh
Rangers were blasted by pundits and their own support for a lack of leadership over the previous three games, with mentality called into question.
They are set to lose long-serving captain James Tavernier at the end of the season, with tomorrow evening’s clash with Hibernian his final outing at Ibrox.
With speculation continuing over the futures of Jack Butland and Nico Raskin going into the summer, Rangers look set for a full overhaul of their leadership group.
Rohl himself confirmed his intention to remain at Ibrox despite calls for his job, and revealed public backing from Andrew Cavenagh and the Ibrox board.
“The support from the board, everyone around me sees a lot of positive things, but we are also critical of ourselves.
“I think there’s no question mark.
“The most important thing is, and this is what I have many times said, we have to take all the information we need in the new season.
“I think you can imagine, with Tav, we will lose the captain and that means for us, and this is a big signal as well, we need new leaders, more leaders for the dressing room to set our standards, what we want in the training pitch, in difficult moments in the game.
“I think this is crucial and this is a great opportunity to work on this.
“Yesterday I had a conversation again with the club and you can be really, trust me, very clear.”
This comes despite links to Bundesliga sides Wolfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen.
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Barron’s comments now make him the latest Rangers player to publicly defend Rohl during one of the most difficult periods of the season.
With Fernandez also backing the manager and senior figures accepting responsibility for recent performances, the dressing room appears determined to shield Rohl from growing external criticism.
However, words alone will not ease supporter frustration after three damaging defeats and a collapse in momentum at the decisive stage of the campaign.
As Rangers prepare for a summer rebuild and significant changes within the leadership group, the coming weeks may prove crucial not only for the squad but also for Rohl’s long-term future at Ibrox.
