AFTER the dust settled, something ominous hung in the air over Rangers following the extraordinary result of Thursday.
How do you follow up from one of your greatest ever European results? The emotional and physical toil of winning that game was always likely to have an effect on the next game.
The post-Dortmund comedown wasn’t surprising. Rangers met a stubborn and defensively strong Dundee United team who were never going to make it easy for the visitors. While creating enough chances to win several matches, it was just one of those games where things didn’t fall for the visitors. Every crossed ball was an inch off, every bouncing ball in the box ended up in the wrong area.
To coin a corny paraphrase - some draws are more equal than others. There are dreadful performances that end in draws and defeat where the team deserved nothing else. Then there are performances where you are left scratching your head wondering how three points weren’t gained. Two stonewall penalties denied by the referees and a number of great chances missed - on another day Giovanni van Bronckhorst's men win that game comfortably.
At the very least, they had identity and purpose to the team that took to the field on Sunday. They controlled the game and created chances - it likely looks very different if Helander battles to win the header. The Swede seemed rusty after a long lay off but Dundee United predictably had few other chances.
For the next run of games, there’s not a great deal to consider changing from the performance at Tannadice - a hope for some more reliable finishing would be what turns that draw into a victory.
Rangers are now close to having a settled first eleven. The mistakes and passive nature of the dropped points in Dingwall, Pittodrie and Parkhead have now been eradicated. Gio has shown an understanding of the problem and started to address it.
There is now a core and a spine to the team - Calvin Bassey is settling in at either left-back or centre-back, Ryan Jack and John Lundstram are forming a good partnership in midfield, Joe Aribo is showing signs he may be playing through his post-AFCON lull, and Alfredo Morelos is the focal point through the middle. What Giovanni van Bronckhorst wants his team to do is becoming more apparent - players are playing in natural positions and trends would suggest results will pick up again.
The dramatic point swing remains a concern - where Dundee United represented a marked improvement in performance, it also emphasised the frustration of dropping points in other games. Rangers haven’t won a game away from home since 12 December. While that includes a three week break, that’s an inexcusable run of form and champions cannot afford to go four games in a row on the road without winning.
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Gio now needs to recognise what players he can and cannot trust to supplement his starting eleven. Does Amad Diallo have the heart and mindset to play his part in a tense title battle? When will Aaron Ramsey be fit and ready to start showing his quality? While the quality of the starting 11 currently looks fairly strong, the depth now looks somewhat depleted. That’s a question for the summer transfer window, but for now Gio has to squeeze everything he can out of this squad and work out who he trusts.
Despite the poorer league position, I feel more confident about Rangers’ chances today than I did following the games against Ross County and Celtic. The margins remain fine and the room for error is now smaller, but the team now looks better equipped to put a run of results together. There is a lot to be concerned about and Gio still has questions to answer, but now is the time to dust ourselves off and put that run of results together.
The twists and turns have barely started.
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