Rangers’ drop in form over the last few weeks has been nothing short of remarkable.
The Gers have slipped 13 points behind their fiercest rivals and the long wait for a Scottish Premiership title is set to go on.
Pundit Chris Sutton claimed that Neil Lennon would be laughing his head off on BT Sport after the Light Blues suffered a 1-0 defeat to Hamilton, and rightly so.
With Steven Gerrard’s men now having lost six domestic matches in 2020, it really feels like the Europa League is keeping the Liverpudlian in the job.
“How many other Rangers managers would survive this?” Sutton said in a dismayed tone on the live coverage of Celtic’s match on Wednesday (BT Sport). Indeed, he is right. Gerrard has a poorer win percentage than a host of his predecessors – the 39-year-old’s stands at 59%, whereas Mark Warburton’s is only just a touch higher at 61.7%.
It’s a bizarre time for Rangers who are now staring down the barrel of another season without a trophy.
Gerrard’s tenure would primarily be based on progression and they did initially achieve that – gaining the highest points tally they’ve mustered since finding themselves back in the SPFL after financial difficulties.
But the end goal was ultimately to get back on par with Celtic. Just one defeat from their opening 15 matches this term was enough to suggest they were getting there but the last few weeks has been a timely reminder of how large the gap remains.
It makes it all the more remarkable that Gerrard was handed a new deal by Dave King and Ross Wilson in December 2019. At present, he’s set to stay at Ibrox until 2024 but that seems highly unlikely. The manager was questioned about his future following their defeat against Hearts last weekend and more concerns will surely follow.
Speaking about the decision to renew, the former Liverpool man said: “When Dave King approached me about the possibility of extending my contract with Rangers, it was a very easy decision to make because I’m very happy and feel that we are building something special together at the Club.”
Meanwhile, King added: “From the moment I met Steven, I could tell that he was the right man to help us to drive this club forward on the pitch. He has an elite mentality and that is exactly what I was looking for.”
It’s clear to see Gerrard has a high mentality but he’s been let down his players who perhaps don’t have the same level of headspace with their on-field performances. The defeat against Hamilton summed things up as Connor Goldson made a horrendous error. Ultimately, though, the blame will fall at the manager’s feet.
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The boss’ initial contract in Glasgow was until 2022 but those first 15 matches of the current season show negligence from the Rangers hierarchy.
After all, a campaign is a long arduous affair and at the moment, Gerrard is showing few signs of being able to turn things around.
Unfortunately, the Gers are still a long way away from where they want to be. A new contract for the manager is beginning to look rather foolish.
Meanwhile, Rangers are starting to miss one Pedro Caixinha signing GREATLY…