Disillusioned Rangers fans can’t even see Celtic’s dual threat amid their own inferiority – Hugh Keevins
That’s the situation in which Brendan Rodgers and whoever is chosen to bring him down are facing in Glasgow.
I know it’s a long shot but come down the road with me on this one for the sake of argument.
What if Ange Postecoglou, currently top of the table with Spurs, wins the English Premier League and Brendan Rodgers fails to win the Premiership? With Celtic already holding a seven-point start over their greatest rivals and nearly a quarter of the season gone. A Rangers team thought by their own fans to be so inferior by comparison that the disillusioned produced a banner during the game against St Mirren last Sunday that described the players as being: “Heartless. Passionless. Leaderless”. Then they added for good measure they were: “Not Fit To Wear Our Colours.”
And Rangers getting that new manager bounce they all talk about without having conclusive proof of its existence. Single trophy. Double whammy in the making for someone as two reputations go on the line.
Rodgers is already out of the Viaplay Cup. The new man at Ibrox must win that competition in their absence on December 17 – or else his credentials will immediately be called into question. Defeat in the cup, then a loss to Celtic at the end of that month, and he’ll be deemed a total failure by use of the quick–fire justice system known as a knee-jerk reaction.
A cup final win and a derby triumph, on the other hand, heaps pressure on Celtic’s manager. All we need now is for the identity of the man who will walk this tightrope without a safety net to be revealed. The international break always provides cover in this situation.
It has allowed the Rangers board – along with Graeme Souness, apparently – to get about their business where the selection
process is concerned. But Scotland’s game with Spain is now over and done with and the friendly with France in Paris will not create the same level of distraction.
A week is a long time in politics. Two weeks without naming your new manager in the football world is a cause of deep
suspicion among supporters looking for reassurance a miracle worker is on the way. Fans don’t like uncertainty. The Rangers players will turn up for training tomorrow not knowing if Steven Davis is making plans for the game against Hibs on Saturday or whether the new guy’s in charge for that game.
Players don’t like uncertainty. Celtic were in this position when Eddie Howe strung them along for what seemed an eternity before they got lucky when he eventually turned them down and Ange was sent for in a hurry. Any minute now the Rangers fans will tire of saying the club should take its time and make the right appointment.
They will start to ask what’s taking so long if the choice is thought to be between one man and his lone competitor. Inevitably supporters become irritable. And the Rangers fans don’t need additional reasons to be agitated after the start they have made to the league season. They’re already looking at new signings they don’t rate and need the stimulus of an inspirational managerial appointment to fuel the belief that all is not yet lost.
The decision makers are under scrutiny because they, and their predecessors, are accused of making a habit of questionable judgment under these circumstances. Single trophy. Multiple pitfalls.