‘Sackable offence’ - Fans react as Rangers on brink of becoming ‘worst ever’ Champions League team after heavy Liverpool defeat

Rangers are within touching distance of becoming the worst team to ever play in the Champions League group stage after suffering a heavy 7-1 defeat at home to Liverpool last night.

The Ibrox side collapsed amid a second half goal-blitz by their English Premier League side opponents, leaving Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men on the brink of reaching an unwanted record in the competition.

Having conceded 16 goals - six of which were shipped within the space of 32 minutes against Jurgen Klopp’s Reds - and scored just once, the Light Blues now have a goal difference of minus 15 after four matches - the worst record of any of the 32 participating teams.

It leave them just four goals short of the minus 19 goal difference held by Croatian outfit Dinamo Zagreb in the 2011/12 season and with two games still to play against free-scoring Group A pacesetters Napoli and Eredivisie giants Ajax, fans will be fearing the worst.

If a trip to Naples to face an already-qualified opponent, who have netted 17 times so far, isn’t a daunting enough prospect, the Light Blues will bring the curtain down on their campaign with a home tie against an Ajax side who put four goals past them in Amsterdam last month.

However, it is the manner of this latest thrashing that has supporters issuing fresh calls for Giovanni van Bronckhorst to be sacked, with inquests into the performance expected to begin immediately.

The majority of home fans inside the stadium last night were in utter disbelief as Liverpool ran riot in the second half, laying seige on Allan McGregor’s goal.

Not only does the nature of this result reflect negatively on Scottish football as a whole, but Van Bronckhorst and his players must brace themselves for a backlash from fans and pundits alike.

Here’s how some Rangers fans have been reacting on Twitter:

@ChrisMcL16: “I’ve held off but it’s time for change. We’re out of our depth at this level but that is worst Rangers performance I’ve seen in my life. Manager can’t survive that and if you let him then what message does it send to the players who think it’s acceptable?”

@CF3Loyal: “Embarrasing. Yes Goldson going off before HT was a huge blow. Yes their quality shone through. But we failed to get the basics right and the effort levels from a number of key players was a disgrace. The worst 45 mins I’ve ever witnessed at Ibrox. Unforgivable! Results like this can destroy confidence.”

@dstewart20: “This is a sackable offence at a club of our stature. Start with the players though. Some of them have been coasting for far too long.”

@petera1872: “A superb 1st half and I know losing Goldson was a big blow but the way we collapsed and fell apart in the second half was disgraceful. Blame Gio all you want but there are some players that should be ashamed in their performances.”

@PurpleStandard: “I thought Juventus in 95’ was bad, this was far worse. They may be levels way above us but that doesn’t excuse the shambles tonight, big questions about Gio’s future now.”

@scottmcpherson1: “That 2nd half was horrible to watch. Not saying there should be sackings, but there has to be some repercussions after that abomination.”

@RABERTO55: “Embarrasing, humilating and unacceptable. I’ve kepy my mouth shut but it’s time for change now. Thanks Gio, last season’s Euro run was superb but we lost. Now loses to Celtic, Ajax and humiliated off Liverpool’s second string is enough now.”

@colin23rfc: “Get Gio out the door. He’s not Rangers class, 3 weeks ago he said we don’t have the money to compete. Gerrard’s freebie team got us to a Europa League final. Gio spent 20million if you count signing on fees and loans and doesn’t play anyone he signed apart from Colak.”

@mkpiano: “Gio is out of his depth. I don’t think too many would have expected to be beaten this heavily or easily at home. Woeful. Time for a change before it’s too late in the league.”

@NuRetroApparel: “Obviously 7-1 in an unacceptable result but at the same time we were striving for Champions League qualification for the money and praising Gio for getting us there. The question I ask myself now is was the 30-40 million worth getting heavily embarassed at this level?”