Rangers fans demand action

THE general secretary of the Rangers Supporters Association has accused some of the current Ibrox players of a “lack of commitment”.

The Light Blues’ attempt to retain the Bank of Scotland Premier League title foundered at Parkhead on Saturday, where Celtic ran out comfortable 3-0 winners in a one-sided Old Firm derby.

The Hoops have now stretched their lead at the top of the table to 11 points, seemingly an unassailable lead.

Fans’ group chief John MacMillan refuses to condemn Ibrox manager Alex McLeish for the malaise in Govan, but insists the Light Blues’ boss deserves criticism for some of buys this season.

“McLeish must take a share of the responsibility, but for people to be calling for his head is totally unfair and unjustified,” said MacMillan. “He lost four or five players just after the start of the season and they have not been replaced by players of even similar quality.

“McLeish has got to answer for some of the summer signings he made. I don’t want to single out any player in particular because there is more than one needing to be replaced.

“We have an uphill task to recover from this because the confidence has gone and you can see that on the park. Players don’t have the confidence to take a man on and some of them are hiding.

“What is particularly disappointing was that the movement off the ball is non-existent.

“Celtic were always chasing everything. Chris Burke was left with nowhere to go on the wing and, when you looked around, you couldn’t see a Rangers player interested in helping him out.

“The players have to look at themselves. I would never accuse a player of not trying, but I would say there was a lack of commitment and that is inexcusable.

“You should show commitment against Celtic, Real Madrid or anyone. There is no excuse for a lack of commitment and we have too many players showing a lack of commitment.

“That is different from a lack of trying, but I would question their commitment to the cause.”

MacMillan added: “There have to be question marks against a number of recent signings and it has been proved they are not good long-term buys.

“He took over at a time when the team was not firing on all cylinders and guided them to success, but he had a body-blow with the players who moved on during the summer and it is a difficult position to recover from.”

Now MacMillan has called for an immediate change in attitude from Rangers’ under-performing squad. “The players have got to look at what they are doing to the fans, the manager, the club and themselves.

“You can be disappointed at any defeat, but, if you can come back and say you were beaten by a better side and given it all you had, you can take some comfort from that.

“But, when you look at some of the inept displays, you have to ask what is happening. Some players are getting paid lots of money and not producing the goods.

“In the outside world, people would be sacked, if they did not perform.

“Players do have slumps in form, but commitment should not come into that. That should be there regardless of current form.”