Rangers icon launches scathing review of side that 'lacked intensity' after Kilmarnock defeat

Rangers’ latest performance against Kilmarnock has come under criticism as the loss sees them now six points adrift of Celtic and Aberdeen. Philippe Clement’s side had a golden opportunity to close the gap on those at the top of the table as they drew 2-2 in Glasgow but a late goal from Marley Watkins send them home from Rugby Park empty-handed.

The goalless performance means that Rangers now have the joint-worst scoring record on the road, having tallied just one goal in their four away fixtures so far this season. The Gers are level with 10th-place Ross County with the lowest amount of goals scored away from home in the Scottish Premiership. Meanwhile, Celtic boast 13, recently putting six past St Johnstone in a dominant win at McDiarmid Park.

Rangers have a tough clash with Aberdeen looming at the end of the month. A defeat at Pittodrie could make matters a whole lot worse if Jimmy Thelin’s Dons put even more daylight between them and the Light Blues in this title race.

Former Rangers midfielder and captain Steven Davis has weighed in on his old side’s performance against Kilmarnock and has blamed their ‘lack of intensity’ as the main reason why they weren’t able to come away with a positive result on Sunday.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Davis said: “It’s a disappointing day from a Rangers point of view. Congratulations to Kilmarnock, I don’t think there was a lot in the game, but Kilmarnock took their chance when it came along. From a Rangers point of view, they didn’t ask enough questions of them, lacked intensity and didn’t really do enough in the game to warrant taking something.”

The former Northern Ireland international also dismissed fingers being pointed at Rugby Park’s artificial surface, stating that it ‘cannot be used as an excuse’. Davis admitted it ‘does slow down the game’ but believes Kilmarnock were comfortable in handling any threat Rangers had to their goal.

The game did spark some controversy though when Killie were awarded a throw in despite the ball appearing to touch home player Lewis Donnelly last before going out of play. Following the throw, Watkins went on to score the only goal of the outing to bank a big three points.

“I can understand the frustration in that situation but there’s enough time to deal with it, you still shouldn’t concede from that position,” Davis continued. “It was a disappointing day all round from a Rangers perspective, I just felt they ran out of ideas in terms of how to create opportunities.

“I felt they lacked a little bit of intensity and lacked belief as game wore on and Kilmarnock got stronger as the game wore on. You felt that they’d turned the corner after the disappointment of the Old Firm and started to build momentum going into the international break and came here with an opportunity to pick up three points and it just wasn’t a good enough performance.”