The Light Blue legions simply can’t ignore the reality it’s Celtic who are now the team going for 55
The number 55 used to be regarded fondly at Ibrox. Not so much nowadays.
Mostly because it’s a stinging reminder of the massive squandered opportunity to reestablish Rangers as a competitive force following their 2021 league victory. However, the mere mention of those two digits now elicits another emotion: dread. They’ve tried not to think about it, to push it out of their brains and into the depths of their subconscious. But, try as they might, the Light Blue legions can’t ignore the fact that Celtic are now the team aiming for 55, on track to equal the Gers’ cherished title record at the end of the season.
Little wonder you seldom hear 55 muttered much at all any more by Rangers fans. Once upon a time it was plastered everywhere you looked around the stadium, from trinkets in the club shop to banners sweeping the stands. Now the supporters can barely bring themselves to say the words.
They may strive to avoid it, yet they still run upon ominous reminders. Consider the postponed kickoff time for Saturday’s snow-covered match against Dundee United. What was expected to be a three-quarters of an hour hold-up after Jim Goodwin’s side became entangled in a motorway logjam ended up taking a bit longer, with the action finally getting starting at 3.55pm.
Rangers had been forced to wait, but they failed to put on the late display that would have kept their already huge Premiership deficit as it was before kickoff. They are now 11 points behind Celtic and face the danger of their dominant rivals matching another impressive record.
It’s not surprising that Rangers struggled to see off a United side that had spent four-and-a-half hours trapped on their team bus. Not least as this is a club that hasn’t just stalled itself but rather spent the last six months trapped in reverse gear.
Friday’s pre-match conversation with manager Philippe Clement revolved around the decision to promote Nils Koppen from head of recruitment to a broader technical director position. Perplexed fans have been taken aback by the announcement, given that all they’ve witnessed since the former PSV Eindhoven scout’s arrival 11 months ago is their club regressing.
But, as with manager Clement, who was given a new four-year contract at the start of the season, the Ibrox board appears pleased to reward the men at the vanguard of the collapse. It remains to be seen whether incoming chairman Malcolm Offord and former Manchester United executive Patrick Stewart, who is rumored to be James Bisgrove’s successor as CEO, are equally eager to maintain the current system.
What is evident is that Rangers remain a team as directionless as the jackknifed lorry that brought the United bus to a halt on the gridlocked road to Glasgow. For 45 minutes, they rushed around like supporters forced to endure slick weather on their way into the ground, attempting to cut through Goodwin’s beautifully disciplined line-up with little success.
United had no trouble identifying a weak place in the Gers’ defence, as Sam Dalby sprinted off the sleeping Jefte to head home Vicko Sevelj’s long cross nine minutes before halftime. That elicited another volley of boos from a fan base that has grown hoarse in jeering their club this season. That necessitated half-time changes from a boss who seemed to be continually dismantling pre-match plans after 45 minutes.
Rangers played their 21st game of the season on Saturday, and Clement made an interval substitute for the 13th time this season.
Injuries will have played a role in some, but there is also a belief among fans that the Belgian frequently selects the incorrect team.
Mohamed Diomande and Cyriel Dessers were the fall guys over the weekend, and it was an easy decision given how ineffectual both had been in the first session. Dessers’ erratic behaviour is nothing new, but the dip in Ivory Coast midfielder Diomande’s form will concern the manager who persuaded the board to spend £4.3 million to get him from Nordsjaelland in January.
Rangers’ replacements, Ianis Hagi and Danilo, provided some spark and cutting edge in the final third. Danilo, the Brazilian frontman, is still regaining his form after a year of physical problems, as evidenced by a massive miss from a Vaclav Cerny cut-back. But his touch was tighter in the 66th minute, when he returned a superb one-two to the Czech ace, who rolled under Jack Walton to equalise.
That was the only time the United keeper was beaten, as the courageous Walton hurled himself at a series of Gers attempts to clinch a well-deserved draw for the Tannadice side.
Goodwin’s club has already lost just one of its seven road games, with a return to European competition next season definitely on the agenda. Rangers’ title hopes are over if they continue on this path.
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