‘An embarrassment to the jersey’ - Fans react as Rangers secure unwanted Champions League history after Ajax loss

Rangers bowed out of the UEFA Champions League with a 3-1 defeat to Ajax at Ibrox and fans have been left furious with Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side on one final night of European pain that confirmed the most unwanted of records.

The Light Blues depart the competition boasting the worst group stage return of any side to compete on UEFA’ elite stage after goals from Steven Berghuis, Mohammed Kudus and Francisco Conceicao inflicted further blows to end their horrendous six-match campaign with zero points, two goals scored and a total of 21 conceded.

On paper, Rangers were always going to fighting an uphill battle against some of the best teams in Europe but it’s been an absymal couple of months for the club, who simply couldn’t live with the attacking prowess of the ruthless Eredivisie champions.

The Gers defensive frailties were exposed throughout and captain James Tavernier’s late penalty was scant consolation as the Dutch outfit raced up the pitch to score immediately from the restart.

From the highs of beating Borussia Dortmund, Braga and RB Leipzig just six months ago, to six bruising Champions League outings, it’s been a difficult learning curve for the Glasgow giants.

The extent to which Rangers been totally outclassed has left an expectant support infuriated and the knock on effect these results have already had domestically from which they’ve yet to fully recover will be a huge cause for concern going forward.

There appeared to be a glimer of optimism in the wake of a dominant Scottish Premiership win over Aberdeen that the Govan side could end their campaign on a positive note but an obliterated backline decimated by injuries and completely shot of confidence were unable to stand up to their classy opponents.

Rangers must now ensure they are still in the title race by the time the World Cup break arrives - a welcome rest period which will, at least, buy Van Bronckhorst some time to get players back to full fitness.

Here’s how Rangers fans have been reacting to their tortuous European campaign on Twitter:

@LiamWATP: “Glad its over. No more hiding from Gio now. He had the cushion of European football to make excuses but now its over. Either back him in January or sack him.”

@TrueBluesLoyal1: “Embarrassing our team from last year beats Ajax 8 times out of 10. Fed up now can we just move on and get a new manager in? And have a clear out of players who are taking a wage. Give us all what we want.”

@CF3Loyal: “Some supporters paid £72 per game to watch the worst team in CL history. We’ve been unlucky with injuries to key players but the investment in our playing squad and quality of recruitment has not been good enough, and that was obvious before a ball was kicked. We deserve better.”

@RampantRyanJack: “Well done, we’ve became the worst team in Champions League history. Another year for Gio, Arfield, McGregor, Davis on the cards then? God forbid we spend some of that money we got for qualifying and from player sales on improving the squad.”

@Qu1ny: “No heart or fight, an embarrassment to the jersey. Went with a defeatist attitude from the start and this is the end result. The lot of them should be ashamed of themselves for letting the fans down like this.”

@JamesCo02902127: “No passion, no desire and the worst tactics in Europe. When even some fans could manage a team better than this it speaks volumes. Gio out.”

@NOTELINYI: “We qualified but didn’t have the team to compete. Directors not allowing money to buy quality. Took the money but allowed the team to get a pasting. Too easy to ask for Gio to be sacked.”

@RangersChat1873: “£150 to watch us become the Champions League’s worst ever team. No points and 2 goals scored. Reimburse the fans for that utter embarrassment.”

@william_duncan5: “Gio and Wilson OUT. They’ve destroyed the value of our players, sold players and not replaced them properly. The board penny pinching it’s all an absolute mess. (Stewart) Robertson and (James) Bisgrove culpable as well for different reasons. We won’t win a thing this season.”

@AndyGeeee: “Folk asking for the youngsters to be played. They are nowhere near that level as was shown tonight as well as other games. Ripped to shreds and gave the ball away. McGregor should be nowhere near that team and should have been replaced prior to the start of the season.”

@ninky1910: “Toughest group with one of the worst squads was never going to end well. Admittedly injuries didn’t help but we lack any pace/penetration going forward. I’m no expert but I can identify the problems so why can’t the club.”

@Colombia1Prince: “An embarrassing campaign which is largely down to the board failing to invest after qualification. It was clear to everyone this squad wasn’t equipped for this level. Ross Wilso also needs to shulder a lot of the blame as the recruitment has been so poor. Gio also to blame for a lot of what we saw on the pitch. He set the tone after the first game with his infamous ‘we can’t compete’ line. What’s the point in turning up if that’s his attitude?”

@mrcraigjardine: “Time for a CLEAR OUT. Its just simple. None have got the heart and knows what no surrender means withing their guts to fight. They just throw the towel in too easy. Gio, see what happens when Matondo gets thrown on, we get a runner and he gets us a penalty. Tactics too late again.”

@baw_baggery: “From the Europa League final to this? Something is seriously wrong. Look at how Frankfurt kicked on from the same game, they beat us by 1 single kick. We’ve went sooooo many steps backwards. Bad recruitment? Without question.”