Rangers’ next league match previously looked like a routine fixture but now carries major significance
In Glasgow you’re only ever three defeats away from a protest, two defeats away from a crisis and one defeat away from a series of viral tweets featuring Kris Boyd’s reaction.
On Wednesday night the gleaming smiles with which Boyd had greeted so many recent Celtic setbacks was replaced by a series of bemused expressions that were replicated by every Rangers fan.
Having gone 27 games unbeaten since the season began, there was little reason to think a Betfred Cup quarter-final against 10th-placed St Mirren would pose any danger. With Celtic having exited the competition in embarrassing fashion at the hands of Ross County, the path appeared clear for Rangers to claim the season’s first trophy.
Success in the tournament would have represented a major milestone for Gerrard in his time at Rangers. For all the improvements made since his arrival, this would have been something concrete and tangible for him to point to.
A clear indication that Rangers were a major force again.
Instead, the belief and optimism that has coursed through his players’ veins is at risk of faltering. Comfortably beating Celtic in the season’s opening derby and conceding just four goals in their opening 17 Premiership fixtures will count for little if Neil Lennon’s men regain momentum and clinch a tenth successive title.
With Lennon having avoided what appeared to be an inevitable dismissal and secured morale-boosting victories over Lille and Kilmarnock, the onus was on Rangers to just keep going about their business and not hand their rivals a glimmer of hope.
While Rangers’ defeat in Paisley has no impact on Celtic’s hopes in that competition, it has the potential to have a seismic effect on this season’s title race. In that respect, this weekend could be one of the most pivotal in Gerrard’s managerial career.
For all that Celtic have turned in numerous below-par performances this season, few would bet against them securing a quadruple treble against Hearts in Sunday’s Scottish Cup Final. To lift a trophy four days after Rangers were knocked out of a competition would send a strong signal that Celtic’s era of domination over Rangers was far from over.
If that were allied to anything other than a win for Gerrard’s side against Motherwell it could be a major turning point in the campaign. 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.
If, however, normal service is resumed with a convincing victory over Stephen Robinson’s men it would be a serious statement. Rangers have overcome numerous challenges this year – topping a group that included Benfica, playing Celtic off the park on their own turf – but they have rarely been tasked with responding to adversity.
A side with serious title-winning aspirations would learn their lessons from the St Mirren game, keep their wits about them and return to the form that’s been so successful in their previous 17 league matches. Such a response would render the St Mirren defeat no more than a freakish aberration.
In that regard, Gerrard can look to his former club for inspiration. After sweeping all before them in last season’s English Premier League, Liverpool began the new campaign with three wins from three.
The overwhelming favourites then travelled to Villa Park, with the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mo Salah firmly expected to maintain their 100% start.
90 minutes later they headed back to Liverpool on the wrong end of a 7-2 scoreline. Lesser sides might have wondered if the previous season had taken too much out of them and let their heads go down.
After that capitulation, however, Jurgen Klopp’s men remained undefeated in their next eight domestic matches before welcoming Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham to Anfield on Wednesday night.
At the same time as Gerrard watched his side’s worst performance and result of the campaign, the team he spent 17 seasons with beat their nearest rivals 2-1 to open up a three-point gap at the top of the table.
If Liverpool remain on top for the remainder of the season, that Aston Villa result will come to be remembered as a bizarre interlude of little consequence in the grand scheme of things, rather than a season-defining collapse.
Regardless of how Rangers’ season pans out, Gerrard will continue to rue his team’s failure to win the season’s first trophy. Saturday’s match against Motherwell will dictate just how significant that defeat will be in the context of their season.
The Rangers side we’ve seen in recent months has looked tougher, more disciplined and less vulnerable than those that endured post-Dubai slumps in Gerrard’s first two campaigns. A convincing victory against Motherwell will show this Rangers team is indeed a more serious proposition.
Two defeats in a row and this week might be a turning point that will have Rangers grimacing for years.
Until Wednesday, Motherwell at Ibrox looked like a routine fixture.
It’s now one of the biggest tests of Steven Gerrard’s managerial career.
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