OPINION
They say that football is a funny old game but you can be certain there were no laughs shared in the Rangers dressing room after their defeat to Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup.
It was a performance lacking quality or belief and after a early hopes of Steven Gerrard leading the club to silverware in his first 12 months in charge, the campaign looks to be one where finishing second is the best they can hope for.
Now some will argue that the Gers are in transition – that they require time and patience to hit the heights that they once occupied but the question is how long can they be considered to be going through this period of change?
They have been chasing Celtic for a couple of years now and after two years of finishing third, can a second placed finish really be considered a success?
A cup final should have at least been the bare minimum and the gulf between the Ibrox side and Aberdeen should have the Gers chiefs red faced with embarrassment.
The Times report that with a £32.6million annual turnover, they had over double the amount coming into the bank in comparison to Aberdeen, who had £15.4million – a difference of £17.2million.
That sort of money is huge in Scotland and while there is no taking away from the job that Derek McInnes has done at the Dons, Rangers should really be head and shoulders above their counterparts.
Serious questions have got to be asked over the club’s progress for while they might be moving up in the Premiership it is at a snail’s pace. The less said about their cup performances, the better.
Money should translate into success – Rangers have failed to live up to expectation and there should be some embarrassed individuals behind closed doors.