Rangers have responded perfectly to their shock cup defeat
When Rangers went into their Betfred Cup quarter-final against St Mirren, they did so without having lost a single match this season.
High on confidence and with 18 wins from 20 in the Premiership, Steven Gerrard’s men would have been expecting another victory on their way to eventually clinching the first trophy of his reign.
Instead, Conor McCarthy’s injury-time winner handed St Mirren a dramatic victory. The defence that had only conceded four times in 17 league matches had just lost three goals in 90 minutes.
In the aftermath, I warned that “the belief and optimism that has coursed through his players’ veins is at risk of faltering”.
Next up for Rangers were Motherwell, and I suggested that “Failure to beat a side that they put five past in September would spark fears that Rangers were about to embark on the sort of winter slump that derailed their previous two title bids”.
This was the first time in the 2020/21 campaign that Rangers had encountered adversity.
The talent and ability of this Rangers side is beyond question. They are clearly a better team than the sides that finished second last season.
What hadn’t been tested was their ability to come back from a significant defeat. Had they followed up the St Mirren defeat with more disappointment against Motherwell it would have looked like the sort of fragility that did for their title push in the first three months of 2020.
For much of the match against Stephen Robinson’s team it looked like a bleak afternoon. Having taken a surprise early lead, Well held out until well into the final quarter of the match.
Then, with 17 minutes remaining, Kemar Roofe equalised. Cedric Itten put Rangers in front with eight minutes remaining, and the passionate celebrations that followed illustrated the importance of a goal that will come to be seen as one of the most important this season if Rangers go on to win the title.
When Roofe scored his second in injury time to wrap up a 3-1 win, the relief was evident. Last season’s Rangers might have succumbed to frustration against a dogged Motherwell, but this crop remained patient, stuck to their task and got the result.
From there, they added a comfortable 3-0 win against St Johnstone in Perth and a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Hibs at Ibrox.
Today, just two weeks after the St Mirren defeat, Rangers returned to Paisley.
That run of three victories was the perfect response to the Betfred Cup exit. Now they had a chance to show that they’d learned from that chastening defeat and gain a measure of revenge into the bargain.
They did so in comfortable style. Lesser sides might have been rattled by the circumstances of that Buddies defeat and approached today’s game with nerves, but Gerrard has instilled such levels of belief and confidence in his squad that it simply wasn’t an issue.
Rangers simply refused to be bullied or let the hosts put them off their stride.
Jim Goodwin’s team rarely threatened as Rangers went about their business and firmly banished any lingering bad vibes from the cup defeat with a 2-0 victory.
Rangers are now four from four, and can look back on the 3-2 loss as a freak result rather than the harbinger of a catastrophic slump.
Talent will only get you so far, but Rangers had talent last season. What they have now, and what was vividly on display in Paisley this afternoon, is a title-winning mentality.
Not only will it give Rangers confidence ahead of Saturday’s derby. It will also stand them in good stead should Celtic leave Ibrox with a result. Last season’s Rangers would be expected to crumble after such a setback.
This, as Gerrard’s men proved again today, is not last season’s Rangers.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
