Defeat to Hibernian last Friday night was Rangers’ third loss in a row in all competitions.
This was the first time Rangers have been on such a dismal run since October 2000. The previous two losses came in both domestic cup competitions, including an abject performance against bitter rivals Celtic. The 2-0 defeat to Hibernian leaves Rangers with a very realistic chance of playing Championship football for a second year. They currently sat in third position, 22 points behind Hearts in first, albeit with three games in hand.
The only way the Gers can make it back to the Premiership would be through the play-offs where there are two stages before the final against the 11th place Premiership side. With Hibs more than likely to meet Rangers along the way in the play-offs, and given the fact Rangers have already lost three times to them this term, that’s is going to be a big mountain to climb to secure promotion.
Five of Rangers’ six league defeats this season have been to Hibs and Hearts, which is the reason why automatic promotion is now out of the question. Off field problems and the resignation of Ally McCoist hasn’t helped at all, but with the entire vibe around the club completely negative, it has definitely shown on the pitch.
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In the League Cup semi-final loss to Celtic, the Gers managed to register just one shot on goal in the entire match. The whole performance was extremely flat and the team showed little passion, despite it being the first Old Firm Derby since 2012. This has carried on in the club’s last two performances, including a shocking loss at home to Raith Rovers in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup. A crowd of under 12,000 turned up at Ibrox to watch the humiliating defeat in a match where Rangers should have run out comfortable winners
But perhaps the most worrying of those defeats came on Friday night as Hibernian left Ibrox with all three points following a 2-0 win. Rangers had 21 shots at goal during the 90 minutes and the complete lack of finishing cost them dearly. Kenny Miller looked off the pace yet again before injury forced him off after just half-an-hour. Kris Boyd hasn’t looked his usual free scoring self this season and had the service to put that right this time around. But he again missed a couple of clear cut chances which he would have probably scored this time last year.
The team suffered from a complete lack of confidence as two of the four chances Hibs had on goal were converted. Poor marking and the lack of ability to stick with their designated man is what cost Rangers at least a point. It was all too simple for Hibs which is unacceptable from an experienced defence with the likes of Lee Wallace and Darren McGregor.
The five players brought in on loan from Newcastle have failed to have much of an impact on the side due to a lack of match time. Rangers will be desperately hoping that this changes as soon as possible because they need fresh blood to stop the rot at the club. With the way things are going all around the club, promotion back to the Premiership seems a long way off at this stage in the season.
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