Former Rangers midfielder Ian Durrant has called for current Ibrox manager Mark Warburton to be given more time to build a side capable of challenging for the Premiership title.
The draw with Ross County on Sunday saw Rangers fall 11 points behind league leaders Celtic, who also have a game in hand over their rivals below.
The result led to some grumblings of frustration from within the large travelling contingent at the final whistle in Dingwall, as Rangers struggled to penetrate a determined County rearguard.
But Durrant believes that Warburton will get it right if given the necessary backing from the club’s board to strengthen his squad, and that Rangers will be better placed to challenge next year if they stand by their manager.
“It’s a shame that some negativity is creeping in around Rangers because Mark Warburton is building a new team,” Durrant said. “Give him a chance.
“Everybody knows that it was just about consolidating Rangers this year and getting them challenging, and hopefully with a couple of new additions they can go and push on.
“There’s a lot of good stuff being played, but they just don’t seem to be able to finish teams off at the moment. Then they’ll lost a goal and they’re left chasing their tails a bit.
“But they will be there or thereabouts, they will be strong enough to be up there and be putting a challenge in.”
Durant knows more than most the expectations that come hand in hand with being a Rangers player, but he thinks that many fans are realistic enough to know that some leeway has to be given – for this season at least.
He recognises though that the supporters might not be as forgiving if the inconsistency that has plagued Rangers this season continues into next.
“Of course, there has to be some realism from the Rangers support,” he said. “It’s the first year back from where they were to where they want to be.
“I’ve seen in the papers that the club are going to give the manager their backing, so hopefully they can now go and push them on. It’s a brand new team and he needs a wee hand.
“Of course there are expectation levels associated with playing for Rangers, and when you take on a job like Rangers you know you are going to come in for stick when things don’t go well.
“It’s how you react to that and mount a challenge, and I’m sure that he will get Rangers up there challenging again.”
*Ian Durrant was speaking at the launch of the North Lanarkshire Sporting Heroes Hall of Fame. See https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/halloffame for further details.
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