October has been a very eventful month at Ibrox with the good, the bad anfd the ugly all represented.
Let’s take a look at the games in recent weeks as well as a glance on what is to come ahead of the World Cup break in mid-November.
Hearts 0 Rangers 4
Liverpool 2 Rangers 0
Rangers 4 St Mirren 0
Rangers 1 Liverpool 7
Motherwell 1 Rangers 2
Rangers 1 Dundee 0
Rangers 1 Livingston 1
Napoli 3 Rangers 0
Rangers 4 Aberdeen 1
Nine games across three competitions, five wins, one draw and three defeats.
The Champions League campaign was doomed from the start with a difficult group turning to despair. In particular, the Liverpool debacle at Ibrox created a historic low for the club as well as a serious dent in the credibility of Gio van Bronckhorst in the eyes of many fans and into the public debate.
Arguably, even more damaging was the lethargic response to that hiding. A knock to the collective confidence and morale of the squad was inevitable but the hangover endured across the Motherwell, Dundee and Livingston games. In the last of that trio, the draw with Livi was the most disappointing but it was a result that was coming with the poor performance level that sustained previous games.
Even through the Champions League difficulty, a winning league run would have been tolerated. Dundee in the League Cup wasn’t pretty which made the Livingston result feel worse. Then there is the question if the Aberdeen performance would have come if it wasn’t for the extent of the pressure placed on the Rangers camp for the past five games. Very debatable.
Pressure endures
Even with the uncertainty and anti-climax of the Ajax game, there is plenty on the line but a mountain to climb in order for Rangers to secure Europa League football. Possible but very improbable. After that just three Premiership games remain until the World Cup break with nine points absolutely necessary.
The big disappointment is the league points dropped at home to Livingston as well as the deep malaise that it was part of. Momentum and belief has been lost but a shot in the arm has came with the team firing on all cylinders against Aberdeen.
A turning point is possible but it will have to be proven on the pitch. Major question marks remain in that regard with the next fixtures against St Johnstone (A), Hearts (H) and St Mirren (A) having a massive bearing on the next chapter.