OPINION
You would think that a 4-0 win over Dundee would leave Rangers manager Steven Gerrard beaming from ear to ear – but that was certainly not the case.
Glen Kamara’s early goal against his former side set the Light Blues on their way to a comfortable victory, with three of the four goals coming in the opening 45 minutes and it was the second half which left Gerrard tearing his hair out, Jermian Defoe’s late strike the only real moment of note.
Speaking after the game, the man in the dugout was fuming as he delivered a brutally honest verdict on his men, insisting that the manner in which their levels dropped was unacceptable for Rangers players.
He told the Daily Record: “It’s frustrating because top teams have standards which they never really let slip, or not very often.We got sloppy, we kept giving the ball away, kept making mistakes all over the pitch and the second half wasn’t enjoyable for me.
“We were sloppy and completely came off the gas. Against better teams and in tougher matches, they will be punished for that. We completely dropped our standards.
“I thought Glen (Kamara) and Ryan’s (Jack) standards didn’t drop, they were probably the only two. So the advice is that when they smell that in future, go for a few people and rattle some cages because it’s not acceptable.”
A stark warning for the Gers stars and with so many top talents waiting in the wings at Ibrox, any one of the starting XI could find himself replaced in the blink of an eye – although Kamara, Jack and goalkeeper Allan McGregor are surely safe from the axe.
Everyone else has got to make sure standards are kept high for Gerrard will not be afraid of swinging the axe if he feels people are not performing as a Rangers player should.
It is not often that a 4-0 win leads to the suggestion of people being dropped – but the manager seems quite happy to stamp his demands on the squad.