THE writing is on the wall for Giovanni van Bronckhorst unless he produces a miracle turnaround.

He’s gone to a gunfight armed with a knife and his team has surrendered with a whimper. Regular readers will know I have had issues with the manager and I have spoken many times about being unsure of his ability to manage our team to the desired levels.

Well, one heavy defeat is tough to take, two and questions are rightly being asked. But this management has now presided over SIX horror shows and the manner of the defeats are as alarming as ever. Two Parkhead thrashings, two feeble showings against Liverpool as well as calamities in Amsterdam and against USG in Belgium.

Each time this team has meekly thrown in the towel with no heart, desire or leadership. The manager even admitted the manner of defeats was concerning to him when I asked him post-match after the Liverpool debacle.

Every single one of us is realistic enough to know the calibre of players we are facing in the Champions League. Every single one of us is also aware of the basic demands whilst in our Rangers jersey. Leadership, heart, desire and commitment to the cause.

This bunch of players have shown they don’t have those capabilities. They looked cowardly as Liverpool repeatedly found the net in the second half on Wednesday. 

Whether they believe in the manager or not, like the game plan or don’t understand it - it doesn’t prohibit you from doing the basics.

That’s why Gio may be facing the toughest of questions. And that's the way it should be. No Rangers manager should lose seven at home, let alone six in 45 minutes. But nothing should protect a squad who looked to these eyes to have given up in games half a dozen times in six months.

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I don’t have all the answers after a horror show which left me shocked. But I do know that once the Ibrox crowd makes up its mind, it can very rarely be swayed. And this crowd may have experienced one humiliation too many.

It’s a long road to recovery for everyone and this team will be rocked confidence-wise. There is no time to mope, however. This is Rangers.

We demand passion, we demand desire, we demand effort. Collectively they have been a hurtful and horrible combined failure far too many times.

But this becoming an article I’ve written too many times and at some point jsut becomes me whistling into the wind. Unless that wind changes and Rangers learn how to recover in-game, the problems will remain.

So, a sobering evening but not a surprising one. It was inevitable a lack of basic standards would finally produce this level of abject defeat. This team will still win a few domestically, but trust in them and the manager is gone from the support on a wider scale.

And while Gio will carry the can, Ross Wilson should be right with him in the firing line. If the manager does fall on his sword then the sporting director should head for the door alongside him.

If he's happy to take the adulation from the support he must now face the reality of criticism. His appointment, his players and his failures.