John Hartson has dubbed Rangers’ Scottish Cup quarter-final replay with Aberdeen on Tuesday as “one of the biggest games of the season”.
He says that after all the money that the Gers have spent recently – most notably on the likes of Jermain Defoe and Steven Davis in January – they need to have something to show for it at the end of the season, which means that they cannot afford to go out at this stage.
The BT Sport pundit added that no progress would have been made if they cannot demonstrate that they were right to sign these players.
“I am looking forward to keeping an eye on tonight’s Scottish Cup replay at Ibrox between Rangers and Aberdeen.It is a game where I think the pressure is all on Rangers because they cannot afford to lose this one,” he said in his Evening Times column.
“They are 8 points behind in the league, they spent an awful lot of money in January on the likes of Jermain Defoe and Steven Davis and if you finish the season empty handed then it is difficult to see that any progress has been made.
“I think that with the money that has been spent and the arrival of Gerrard that ideally Rangers will want something to show for it all at the end of the season. I know this is only the quarter-final of the Cup but it has a felling around it of one of the biggest games of the season for Rangers because I just don’t think that can afford to go out at this stage.
“They were sloppy on Friday night against Hibs in a game that should have been out of sight by half-time. They can’t afford to have another slip like that tonight against Aberdeen. How they cope with that kind of pressure around the game will be interesting in itself.”
OPINION
Hartson is right to dub this clash as one of the biggest of the season. If they cannot progress, just what would Rangers have achieved this season? Absolutely nothing. Defoe has turned out to be a pretty decent signing after chipping in with a few goals already, but the same cannot be said for Davis, who is struggling to even get many substitute appearances under his belt. This could be their final chance to win some silverware and prove that they were right to spend some money in January, so it will be interesting to see how they cope with the pressure that Hartson has rightly pointed out here. If they do go out to Aberdeen on Tuesday, just how will the fans react? It has been a while since the club won a trophy and they are no doubt growing incredibly frustrated with every season that goes by where they do not win one. Either way, there is a lot resting on the fuxture on Tuesday – so Hartson is right to label it as one of the biggest games of the season.