RANGERS players need to be read the riot act in the wake of their gutless display against Dundee on Sunday – just like their predecessors were after their last defeat at Dens Park 25 years ago.

That was the call from former Gers defender Scott Nisbet today as he looked back on the embarrassing 2-1 loss which the Ibrox club slumped to at the weekend.

First half goals from Mark O’Hara and Kevin Holt secured the first victory for the Tayside club over their Glasgow rivals at home since the start of the 1992/93 season.

Nisbet played in that match – which his side lost 4-3 after Billy Dodds netted a late penalty for the Dark Blues – and still shudders when he thinks back to the fallout to the result.

Rangers manager Walter Smith tore into the players - including club legends like Ian Durrant, Ian Ferguson, Richard Gough, Stuart McCall and Ally McCoist - responsible for the reverse in the dressing room afterwards.

But the epic rollicking certainly had the desired affect – the Scottish champions promptly went on a record 44 game unbeaten run, won the fifth treble in their history and just missed out on reaching the first Champions League final.

The current Rangers squad can only dream of that sort of success; the defeat at the weekend has left them six points behind second-placed Aberdeen in the Ladbrokes Premiership table and with little chance of finishing runners-up.

However, Nisbet, who now runs a soccer school in Lanzarote, watched his former club in action at the weekend and reckons the current squad could do with being told a few harsh truths as well.

“I remember the game back in 1992 very well,” he said. “It was a tough, tough game, but we blew it. We should have killed Dundee off and won the game and we didn’t.

“The gaffer went absolutely ballistic after the game – and quite rightly so because we had dominated the game and given away stupid goals. You can’t afford to do that.

“Fortunately, it didn’t cost us in the long run because we went on to win the league again, the League Cup and the Scottish Cup that season.

“Indeed, after that Dundee game at Dens Park we went 44 games undefeated in all competitions – which was a phenomenal run. The squad we had back then was absolutely superb.

“We went undefeated in the Champions League and were only robbed of a place in the final by Marseille. Afterwards they got caught up in a bribery scandal and were relegated and banned from European competition.”

Nisbet added: “Somebody needs to get in there and read the riot act to this Rangers team.

"The gaffer (Smith) was one of the coolest guys about, but when he came to that touchline and gave you a bollocking you knew about it.

“You never saw the gaffer write down anything on paper. He just made his presence felt and gave you a verbal volley at half-time or full-time, let you know in no uncertain terms what you’ve done wrong. It worked.

“It never did Alex Ferguson any harm in his career. If something went wrong he would be on the touchline giving his players a bollocking. They haven’t got that just now and they need to be told what they're doing isn't good enough.”

Nisbet also feels that Rangers are lacking players who understand what is required to play for the Ibrox club at the moment and the high standards which have to be attained every time they take to the field.

“If you had given away goals at set pieces like Rangers did in the cup final against Hibs, when we lost two goals in 10 minutes, or against Dundee at Dens Park on Sunday Richard Gough and John Brown would have ripped your head off,” he said.

“When you’re a centre half you have to take one for the team, you have to put your head in where it’s going to hurt. There is nobody doing that at the moment.

“When I played we had Stuart McCall and Ian Ferguson in midfield. Those were the guys who were going and winning 50/50s. You never saw Bomber, Stuart McCall or Ian Ferguson pull out of a tackle. They just took one for the team and that was it. We knew what playing for Rangers was all about.

“I appreciate times have changed and Rangers don’t have their problems to seek after enduring a few difficult years. But there are no excuses for not showing enough desire. A couple of the boys were pushed off the ball on Sunday. They went down too easily.

“Dundee were more physical, they closed Rangers down at every opportunity and they closed them down in packs of three. When you play for Celtic and Rangers every team wants to beat you because you’re the biggest. Every team tries harder. But we aren’t trying that hard at the moment.”

Nisbet, the former centre half, believes that Rangers must ditch the patient build-up play that former manager Mark Warburton insisted upon and which Graeme Murty has persisted with since taking over on a temporary basis.

“We do a lot of passing, but we don’t really go anywhere,” said Nisbet. “It is alright passing the ball from the back – but only if you’ve got the players to play that way."

Nisbet, whose playing career was cut short by a pelvic injury in his twenties, believes that appointing the right successor to Warburton and recruiting wisely in the summer is now crucial if the Ibrox club is to return to the top of Scottish football.

“Rangers are a right few players short," he said. "They need stronger, physically stronger, players who work as a team better and don’t concede such stupid goals at set-pieces.

“It is poor just now. They need a good half a dozen quality players in. The fans are turning out in huge numbers week in week out at Ibrox and the team isn’t producing the goods.

“It is not Graeme Murty’s fault at all. He has been put in a difficult position. Hopefully the club can bring in a top quality manager who can bring in top quality players.

“Hopefully Rangers can turn it around next season. To be 27 points behind Celtic isn’t good enough. But they need to take their time and get the right man in to turn things around."