Rangers secured a narrow win over Ross County, one that was much needed after a poor week which saw them lose 1-0 to Hamilton in the Scottish Premiership and to Hearts in the Scottish Cup.
The boos were in chorus after the league defeat but with the team due to play Leverkusen in the Round of 16 of the Europa League, the questions arise as to why Rangers fans are unhappy.
Rangers were flying
On the 29th December, ten-man Rangers secured a 2-1 win over Celtic at Celtic Park which moved them two points behind with a game in hand, with many feeling that this was the year that Celtic’s dominance came to an end.
Fast forward two and a half months to the present day where Rangers are now 13 points off their Glaswegian rivals with a game in hand. They lost the League Cup final and are now out of the Scottish Cup.
The Europa League now remains the trophy to play for. Whilst this is a far cry from their state in the first decade of the 21st century, are Rangers fans expecting too much?
Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is in his first official managerial job and has only been in the job a year and a half. They have beaten Braga away and drawn 1-1 at Porto. They have also beaten Feyenoord in a group where they were expected to finish bottom and ended up finishing second.
It goes to show not only the fickleness but also the short memory of the modern-day football fan. Rangers fans were not long ago singing his praises and whilst many now are still in support of Gerrard, there are many that are calling for his head and tweeting “Gerrard Out”.
How can fans expect their teams to do well when they are slating their manager after less than two years into a job and where they have progressed far more than many expected in Europe.
They have to give him time and it is good to see the fans supporting their manager in response to those fans wanting him out.
If Rangers were to beat Leverkusen and progress to the quarter-finals, surely fans would have taken that at the start of the season.
Realistically fans should have been expecting a second-place finish due to the quality of Celtic, and whilst they didn’t progress past Hearts in the Scottish Cup, they still made the League Cup final.
For a team that were in the third division in 2012, it was always going to be a slow rebuild after their financial issues.
To be flying high in Europe within four years of being back in the Scottish Premiership, led by a manager who has done this with less than two years in the job, Gerrard should be held with high esteem and fans should not be so spoilt.
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