Rangers flops accused of 'chucking it' before season commences as Ibrox hero goes two-footed into scathing verdict
A Rangers legend has called into question the body language of several first-team players
Rangers boss Philippe Clement has his hands full heading into the start of the 2024/25 campaign after his side’s poor pre-season preparations left much to be desired.
And one concerned former Ibrox star, who has been keeping a close eye on their summer programme, has accused some first-team players of “chucking it” before the competitive action begins in earnest this weekend.
Questions have already been raised as to whether the Light Blues squad are going through the motions after failing to win any of their friendly fixtures. A goalless draw against Standard Liege in a behind-closed-doors match was followed by a run of three straight defeats to Ajax (2-1), Manchester United (2-0) and Birmingham City (2-1) before mustering a 4-4 draw with Bundesliga side Union Berlin in the German capital to round off their warm-up schedule.
Clement has been left with more questions than answers following those bounce games and the performances in each of those fixtures have left Derek Ferguson fearing that his old club won’t be ready for when they visit Hearts at Tynecastle in the opening fixture of the new Scottish Premiership season on Saturday. Like many fans, Ferguson has been less than impressed by what he’s seen from Clement’s new-look side so far, with the Belgian still in the midst of a significant rebuild that is taking longer to come to fruition that supporters had hoped would be the case. Todd Cantwell has had an official transfer request green-lighted, while the future of other stars such as James Tavernier, Connor Goldson and Ianis Hagi remain a topic of conversation.
And Ferguson reckons it all points to a more widespread issue. He told Ibrox news: “We’ve got a group of guys, but watching them, their body language, one or two of them are chucking it. And this is in pre season, the build up to the start of the season, the start of a European campaign and their body language it actually stinks to be honest with you and it’s terrible to say that.”
While Gers fans are demanding more transfer business is carried out quickly, it’s been a chaotic couple of months off the pitch as well for Rangers after the club were forced to relocate to Hampden Park until early September due to delayed renovation works being carried out on the Copland Road Stand at Ibrox.