Alan Rough questions Rangers’ ability to play under pressure at Ibrox

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Former Celtic and Scotland goalkeeper Alan Rough has questioned whether this crop of Rangers players are actually any different.

Last weekend, Rangers were unable to bounce back from their home defeat to Celtic after they lost to Steve Clarke’s strong Kilmarnock side, with former Gers star Kris Boyd netting the winner against his old side.

The Ayrshire club are a decent enough outfit, however, after all the hype surrounding the new crop of Rangers players since January, the fixture should have been a default win, and the result will have been an extended reality check for the Gers players after the previous week’s disappointment.

Despite the loss, there is still no doubt that Graeme Murty has improved the general feel around the dressing room. However, the home loss against Kilmarnock simply reminded the rest of the league that Rangers may be the second best team in the league, but they are most definitely beatable, and often unable to handle the pressures of needing to produce a result in front of a home crowd.

Former Celtic and Scotland goalkeeper Alan Rough has gone as far as to suggest that perhaps the current Rangers squad is in fact no different to last season’s, seemingly unable to perform in front of their sizeable home support.

Speaking to PLZ Soccer on 19 March 2018, Rough said: “Again it was a disappointing home display from Rangers.

“I think everybody is now doubting whether this block of players are any different from the last block because they don’t seem to be able to handle playing at home in front of the that large crowd.

“Too many of them go into their shell.”

Rangers should still be regarded as the favourites to finish second this season. However, if Aberdeen win their game in hand, they will actually leapfrog the Ibrox club and go one point ahead.

Following the split, it may become imperative for Murty’s men to defeat Aberdeen to regain the lead, which they are well capable of. However, they must start performing better at home if they are to stand any chance of mounting a genuine title challenge in the coming seasons.

If only home games were taken into account this season, Rangers would be sitting in sixth place behind Celtic, Aberdeen, Hearts, Kilmarnock and Hibs having won seven and lost seven to date. This is simply not good enough for a club with a fortress such as Ibrox, and improvements must be made sooner rather than later.