By Alistair Aird
At a club like Rangers you are only ever as good as your last result. That’s why, despite successfully navigating a tricky Champions League qualifying tie against Panathinaikos, Russell Martin’s side came into this match against Viktoria Plzen with criticism from inside and outside the dressing room ringing in their ears. And it’s hard to argue that those disparaging remarks had no substance.
The second half performance against Motherwell at Fir Pak on Saturday was unacceptable. As Martin said there was no sugar coating and no hiding place for certain players who once again failed to show the watching public that they had what it took to wear a Rangers jersey and deliver success in the shape of silverware. It’s been too heavy for them for far too long.
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And front and centre again when the flak was flying was James Tavernier.
There is no doubt that Tavernier has served Rangers well. After signing from Wigan Athletic 10 years ago, he has made 516 appearances, scored 131 goals and claimed 142 assists. But his influence on the team has waned since his heroics on the road to Seville in 2022. And last season saw the goal contributions slow to a trickle, with Tavernier scoring a meagre five goals and claiming 13 assists in 53 appearances.
When one considers Tavernier’s limitations defensively that have had the spotlight shone upon them even when his Rangers career was at its zenith and his questionable mentality, the blunting of his attacking threat has hastened what happened ahead of this match. Captain or not, getting dropped was long overdue, with another anodyne interview after the Motherwell match reinforcing the point that Tavernier is no longer the man to lead us forward. He hasn’t been for a long time, and we will remain stagnant while he is skipper. Although whoever takes the armband in the long term remains to be seen – it went to John Souttar for this one – I would suggest Jack Butland would be a better fit for the role as the season progresses.
The removal of Kieran Dowell and Danilo from the starting XI was also a given.
Martin has been effusive in his praise of Dowell since he arrived, but that has befuddled the Rangers supporters. Few if any of his 35 appearances for Rangers fitted into the ‘stellar’ category, with his return being more mediocre than majestic. Dowell is a liability and an accident that is surely no longer going to be allowed to happen. His latest error of judgement was a lack of awareness and work ethic to track his man in the lead up to Motherwell’s equalising goal at the weekend. When you can’t even do the basics, the bare minimum, you don’t deserve to wear a Rangers jersey.
Danilo had some latitude due to being stricken by injury since he signed for Rangers. His goals in pre-season suggested that he was perhaps on the right road too. But he has turned anonymity into an art form in the three games thus far and as soon as Martin singled out Cyriel Dessers for his selflessness and graft against Motherwell, you knew Danilo’s days as a starter were numbered.
The last player to drop out may have raised some eyebrows.
Nico Raskin shone like a beacon in the darkness that engulfed last season. He was a Belgian buzzbomb, seamlessly moving between the ‘6’ and ‘8’ position. His displays earned Raskin a first full cap for Belgium, and he was viewed as our most marketable asset with many feeling that he should have been tied down to a longer contract before the season started. But Martin has clearly clipped his wings by giving him a different role in the team. Debate over the merit of that still rages on, but Raskin’s apparent refusal to comply looked to have cost him what seemed to be a guaranteed slot in the XI if he was fit and free from suspension.
Martin had thus followed his words with action. Few of his most recent predecessors had done likewise. But it was concerning that Martin was already having to fend off critics already even though his Rangers career is only three games old. His comments pre-match about it taking eight games and four successive defeats for his Southampton players to understand and implement his philosophy did little to reassure the supporters either.
What Martin did have in his favour if he and his players align and create the necessary synergy was a winnable route to the lucrative Champions League group stages. An aggregate victory over Plzen would throw up a play-off against either Red Bull Salzburg or Club Brugge. Difficult ties undoubtedly, but not exactly heavyweight contenders in the European game.
Plzen came into this game having already played two league games, winning one and drawing the other. A 5-1 win over FK Pardubice was followed by a 1-1 draw at home against Jablonec. And after losing at home to Servette, they had travelled to Switzerland and win 3-1 in the second leg. Runners-up in the Czech First League last season, they had beaten Hearts home and away en-route to the league phase of the Europa League. Their quest for glory was ended by Lazio in the last 16.
At bang on 19.45, the white shirted Czechs got the game underway. But it was Rangers who first made inroads when some enterprising play involving Jefte and Gassama saw the young French winger hit the byeline. His cross was easily gathered by Florian Wielgle, though.
Lyall Cameron, whose arrival in the summer seems to have come in under the radar, was prominent in the early exchanges. He was either mopping up at the back or pushing forward as he sought to show all and sundry that Martin was correct to favour him rather than Raskin. He was the link in the chain between Jefte and Gassama on the left and always made himself available for a pass.
But it was from the other flank that the opening goal was almost created after 10 minutes. Max Aarons, finally in his natural right back role, slid a pass to Oliver Antman and his lofted cross was nicked away by a defender at full stretch with Gassma lurking with intent.
Four minutes later, the Gass Man wouldn’t be denied, though. He linked superbly with Dessers and calmly advanced on the goalkeeper before curling the ball into the far corner. That meant it was three goals in three European games for Gassama who is fast becoming the darling of the Rangers support. He is fast, direct and tricky. He plays with his head up and is always looking to make something happen. And the role played by the oft-criticised Dessers shouldn’t be underestimated. His pass into the feet of Gassama was perfection personified.
Gassama was to the fore again after 21 minutes. He sped into the box and when he cut the ball back, Antman thumped in a shot that was goalbound but he was denied a debut goal by a desperate clearance.
Had Martin sat down last night and outlined how he wanted the opening quarter of the game to unfold, the start here was as close as it could have been to his utopia. The pallid version of Rangers that had squandered two points on Saturday had been replaced by a much more vibrant and energetic version.
At this stage, the personnel changes were more than vindicated. Aarons looked much more comfortable at right back, Jefte was making the most of his opportunity having seemingly not been flavour of the week for the manager, and young Cameron was more than meeting expectations too.
Dessers hadn’t seen much of the ball, but his work rate and desire was what we have come to expect from him. And a couple of minutes from the break, he was handed an opportunity to extend Rangers’ lead.
Antman, who had been a breath of fresh air throughout, freed Gassama on the left and when he received the return pass, the flying Finn was bumped in the back inside the box. It was a certain penalty kick and with Tavernier otherwise engaged, Dessers stepped up and sent Weigele the wrong way.
A 2-0 interval was the least that a reinvigorated Rangers deserved. It was just reward for such an enterprising first half display. But in each of Martin’s three previous matches, a good half of football had either been preceded by or followed by a poor one. This was an opportunity to show that this side had what it took to keep going for the jugular for the entirety of the match.
Mo Diomande almost got the second half off to the perfect start when he zipped in a shot that rattled the bar. But that would just be a temporary reprieve for the Czechs. Moments later, Antman motored down the right to get on the end of a fine pass from Aarons and his far post cross picked out an unmarked Gassama to head in a third goal. It was textbook, the type of goal that Martin wants his teams to score.
That goal pumped up the volume in the stands. The fans were enjoying the festival of football that their team was playing. And their heroes didn’t look like they were content to rest on their laurels either; they were hungry for more goals.
Dessers was unfortunate not to double his tally when he rose to meet a teasing cross from Cameron just after the hour mark. His header didn’t find the target, but the buildup play was once again enterprising.
At this point, Raskin was readied. Already booked in the first half while warming up, he would be walking a tightrope when he replaced Joe Rothwell. Tactically the change would see Raskin take up the sitting midfielder role rather than the more advanced left-sided position he had played under Martin thus far. It also gave Raskin the opportunity to prove that he had taken his medicine after being omitted from the starting XI.
Raskin would soon be joined by two of the other three players that had been dropped. After 73 minutes, Tavernier replaced Aarons and Danilo came on for Dessers. Connor Barron also took over from the impressive Cameron.
Although he will always have his critics, this was another night when Dessers led the line superbly. If he stays at the club, he will score goals while no doubt enthralling and infuriating us in equal measures. As things stand, he is the first choice in the central striking role and deservedly so.
For the minutes that remained, Rangers managed the game well. As he had been throughout the match, Jack Butland was untroubled apart from a shot from distance after 83 minutes that he pushed over the bar. At the other end, Rangers didn’t carve out too many openings although Gassama spurned an opportunity to complete his hat trick when he shot weakly when teed up by Tavernier.
This was a dream night for Rangers and their new Head Coach. The script had been followed and each and everyone involved had played their part.
There must be a note of caution, though.
In the same way that we bemoaned being in the same movie after the meek surrender on Saturday, winning well tonight could also be perceived as being a scene we have seen before. After all, recent Rangers teams have done this, raised their game to a higher plateau in Europe or against Celtic then crumbled when they must roll their sleeves up and do the dirty stuff to win ugly domestically. A solid and convincing win against Dundee at the weekend to consolidate this performance and start to dispel that theory is therefore essential.
But we can think about that tomorrow. Tonight, Russell’s Rangers made a statement and passed yet another test. Cameron thrived in his role and Dessers was industrious as per. The wingers – Gassama and Antman – were wonderful with their wizardry.
And Martin? More of the same please and congratulations for having the ‘cojones’ to make the changes you did. They were vindicated and the players delivered. The fans will fully subscribe to his way of playing if there are more performances of this ilk. The next step is to maintain the momentum and build on it rather than stumble and stall like we have done too often before.