It was never ever going to be easy. It never is at Rangers.

The manager warned us it would be a few months before we hit our top form. Almost a dozen players in and slightly more out, the turnover has been extensive. We all know that. 

Sadly, Sunday’s defeat has brought more questions than answers, more worry than contentment. And, yes, more hapless feelings of disappointment. 

There is no quick fix. But somehow we have managed to throw a lot of money at this summer, similar to what we have spent in previous summers, and be in a position where I am not only worried about the quality but also that we are repeating this cycle.

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Money committed to Diomande, Cortes and Bajrami amounts to around £12million. Chuck in Igamane, Propper, Barron and the other incomings, and it becomes clear that we have once again heavily invested. You can’t accuse the board of not being committed to spending and backing the manager as much as we possibly can. But that doesn’t mean every fan isn’t quietly worried about what we have done. 

Are we spending it well? Do we have a strategy? Do we have the right people making the decisions? 

It’s important we don’t overreact, even if it was a stinging result, and we need to give every single signing time. But we can also say that and acknowledge there are worries and doubts creeping into the mind of every fan.

The problem is during all of this, waiting for players to settle in and taking our time, is that you have to see signs of improvement on the pitch. Arguably, there is a big concern we aren’t seeing that. 

(Image: PA)

The biggest issue is tactically. Collectively and individually, we are being set up in a way that just clearly isn’t working. Less than a 50% win rate in the last 20-plus games is a clear indication of that. 

I’m never going to be a tactical genius, I’m never going to talk about what the team should be doing and isn’t, but I can only go by what I think I am seeing, which is very little shape and very little cohesion.

We don’t look like we are organised, we can’t follow runners and we can’t win our battles. When we don't tick those boxes, players just revert into their shells and accept their fate.

We seem to always give the opposition a free man, we look very easy to create chances against and we don’t appear to be able to withstand pressure. Players don’t seem like they are able to cope or dare I say it, even worse, the players (in these situations) don’t look like they believe they can cope. 

I can accept not being good enough but I absolutely can’t accept players not giving me absolutely everything. When players are trotting back, seemingly having given up, then I can’t accept it all. It doesn’t look good and several times now the fans have questioned the commitment of some of these players.

Are they not organised? Are they not fit enough? Can they not match the desire of others?

Because on Sunday I saw players at times looking like they were simply walking back into position. Lack of effort and desire was a huge concern. 

It felt like they had given up, it felt like there was a complete lack of effort as soon as the going got tough. It looked like players were not tracking, not working, giving up on fighting when the opposition was chasing back 80 yards and showing every single one of our players up. No heart, no desire, no bounce back and no quality when it really matters.

Individual mistakes happen, but being surprised when Celtic take quick throw-ins is not acceptable. Either is not tracking people or sleeping at the back post. It is such a tiresome movie that we are all exasperated watching.

So why is that the case? Guys like Butland, why has his form suddenly dropped off the face of the earth? Questions like 'Who has this manager really improved?' and 'Why do we look so badly coached and so easily played through?' are suddenly difficult to argue against. One pass has consistently sliced this team apart all summer yet no one does anything about it. 

The jury is well and truly out on Philippe Clement and his win rate in the last twenty games is alarming at best. But the board have made it clear they back him. To make something clear, I can question his decisions but this is NOT another case where I’m saying sack him. I don’t believe that, but it would be naïve not to question some decisions.

Rangers need leadership and strategy and they need something the support can get behind. At the moment all people see is no apparent end to a cycle where acceptance of second seems inevitable.

This board of directors have put in a lot of money and done a lot of good things, but ultimately on the park this football club are failing and they need to make key footballing appointments to lead this institution.

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Is this harsh or an overreaction to a poor start to the season? Maybe, maybe not. This absolutely needs time, but there is now a fragility to everything.

Rangers can’t continue this cycle of rebuild, fail, hire new manager, rebuild, fail, hire new manager. But Rangers also can’t hang around and wait for a miracle either. We are falling further behind by the minute and we have to see small shoots of recovery on and off the pitch.

And it has to be soon. People are tired and tolerance is zero, things have to improve. Instantly. 

Poor Old Firm defeats and results will never be acceptable. The aftermath of that is always painful, that’s what happens at Rangers. Time for everyone to stand up and be counted.