Kris Boyd claims Rangers were 'spooked' in Dundee stalemate as Ibrox side given taste of their own medicine

Pundit Kris Boyd reckons Rangers didn’t respond well to being given a taste of their own medicine in their 2-2 draw at Dundee as they were ‘spooked’ by the hosts’ man-for-man approach.

Rangers boss Derek McInnes has been praised for using the same tactics of late, particularly in their back-to-back victories over Celtic prior to the international break. However, in their league fixture at Dens Park, they struggled to cope with Steven Pressley’s Dark Blues, who weren’t afraid to press them high.

Dundee took a deserved lead in the first half through striker Bradley Fink, however wonder strikes from Rangers winger Badredine Bouanani and midfielder Nico Raskin turned the game on its head. That was, until Rangers captain Dan Neil lost the ball cheaply in midfield to Dundee’s Callum Jones, who rescued a point for the Tayside outfit. The result means Rangers missed out on the opportunity to go top of the Scottish Premiership and put pressure on their Old Firm rivals.

Why does Boyd think Dundee’s tactics ‘spooked’ Rangers?

Analysing the events unfold on Sky Sports, Boyd claims Pressley got it spot on. He said: “I think if you look at the way that Dundee went about their business, they went man for man all over the pitch and Rangers, they were a little bit spooked because they're not used to that.

“Because I think when clubs like Rangers and Celtic, when they go on a run and they're winning 6,7,8 games, all of a sudden, there is a fear factor there - and sometimes teams just back off. But Dundee went the opposite tonight. They went full press, they went after them, they caused them problems. But don't get me wrong, Rangers caused a lot of their own problems with their sloppiness.”

Uncharacteristic errors make way into Rangers team

The error from Neil was an uncharacteristic one given his form in recent weeks. But Boyd also believes the defence didn’t cover themselves in glory, particularly for the first goal. Dujon Sterling, Emmanuel Fernandez and Olwethu Makhanya have received not stop praise during their seven game winning-run - but weren’t at their best at Dens Park. When looking back at Fink’s goal, Boyd continued: “Dujon Sterling has had plenty of plaudits - but he doesn’t track his runner when he comes inside.

“Fernandez has got to do better, - and he has got to do better for the second one as well. Plus, I think Makhanya should run with him his as well. So it just shows you that, yes, they've had plenty of plaudits. But if you don't do the basics properly, you can come unstuck in this league. And that's exactly what happened at Rangers that first goal.”

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