THE Rangers board can expect to receive a roasting from their shareholders at their AGM next month following a dire start to the 2022/23 campaign.

They might have posted a multi-million pound profit in their annual financial results for the first time in years – but on the park the Ibrox club have been found badly wanting.

Their Champions League campaign was humiliating and they look to have no chance of catching rampant Celtic in the cinch Premiership.

Here, Herald Sport takes a look at how Rangers have performed in the lead up to the World Cup break and asks if manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst can survive and silence his doubters.

Rangers Review:

THE LEAGUE: 3/10

Arithmetically, Rangers can still win the cinch Premiership come May. They were nine points behind leaders Celtic going into the World Cup break and there are 23 matches, including three Old Firm derbies, still to play and 69 points up for grabs.

Ange Postecoglou’s side, though, have been performing with style and a never-say-die attitude. Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team, in stark contrast, have been woeful of late. They have dropped points to Livingston, St Johnstone and St Mirren in recent weeks.   

Can the Ibrox club turn things around when club football resumes after the Qatar 2022 final next month? It looks improbable. Too many players are sidelined, out-of-form, getting on in years or just plain disinterested. Those are not issues across the River Clyde at Parkhead.

Rangers Review:

EUROPE: 3/10

Having suffered a record 7-1 defeat at home to Liverpool and recorded the worst Champions League group stage record in the 30 year history of the competition, it is easy to say that Rangers have been nothing short of an unmitigated disaster in Europe this season.

But there were significant early successes. They bounced back from the 2-0 defeat they suffered to Belgian minnows Royal Union Saint-Gilloise away in the first leg of the Champions League third qualifying round in August with a 3-0 triumph that secured their play-off spot.

In the double header with PSV Eindhoven they also impressed. Their fans travelled to the Netherlands in hope not expectation following a 2-2 draw in the opening encounter in Govan. But Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team were worthy 1-0 winners over Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side.

That triumph sent the Glasgow giants into the Champions League for the first time in 12 years and banked them tens of millions of pounds in income they had not budgeted for.

Their Group A campaign was a car crash. They started with a heavy 4-0 defeat to Ajax in Amsterdam in September and it went from bad to worse thereafter. They lost all six matches, conceded 22 goals and scored just two, one of which was from the penalty spot. Injuries and a lack of investment in the squad cost them dear. 

Rangers Review:

RECRUITMENT: 4/10

Rangers sporting director Ross Wilson has found himself in the firing line as well as the manager and players in the last few months as the Ibrox club have struggled in Scotland and bombed in Europe.

The man who has been responsible for overseeing recruitment for the past three years is has been blamed for the disappointments suffered.

But there have been several excellent signings this year.

Antonio Colak, the Croatian internationalist who was brought in from PAOK in Greece back in July, has been worth every penny of his £1.8m transfer fee. He has netted 14 times in 24 appearances and kept Alfredo Morelos out of the starting line-up.

Tom Lawrence, too, settled quickly and made an immediate impact. The Welsh internationalist, who joined for nothing after parting company with Derby County, was influential both at home and abroad before he suffered a knee injury back at the end of August.

Meanwhile, Ben Davies, a £3m capture from Liverpool, has looked composed and intelligent at the back on the occasions he has been fit.

Even Ridvan Yilmaz, the Turkish internationalist of whom so much was expected when Rangers paid Besiktas a cool £3.4m to secure his services, has shown glimpses of what he is capable of at left back of late.

Malik Tillman, the Bayern Munich loanee and United States internationalist, has certainly had his moments. But there have not been enough of them. The 20-year-old playmaker has been inconsistent.

Elsewhere, winger Rabbi Matonda has been a massive let down and centre half John Souttar has made just a single appearance due to injury.

The Rangers supporters are probably more unhappy with the lack of investment in the first team squad than with the players who have been brought in. That is a valid criticism. It was obvious that Van Bronckhorst did not have the quality or strength in depth that he required to compete in the Champions League group stages. But much-needed funds were not forthcoming.

Rangers Review:

MANAGER: 4/10

Being shorn of the services of a raft of experienced and talented players has not helped Van Bronckhorst’s cause this season. Neither, for that matter, has being handed little over £10m to strengthen his squad after losing Joe Aribo and Calvin Bassey, his two best performers last term, in the summer.

How was he expected to challenge Celtic for the Premiership and compete for a place in the Champions League knockout rounds with what he had at his disposal? But he is under serious pressure as a consequence of poor performances and humiliating results. 

In some respects, he has been a victim of his own success. He steered his new-look side through to the Champions League group stages in August and then watched them toil against top class Dutch, English and Italian opposition.

That said, there can be no excuses for the mauling by Celtic at Parkhead back in September or the dropped points against Hibernian, Livingston, St Johnstone and St Mirren. He had enough on the park and on the bench to avoid those results.

The former World Cup finalist deserves the chance to oversee an upturn in fortunes when domestic football starts up against in December given what he has had to contend with. But if he remains in his position it may well just be a stay of execution.

TOTAL: 14/40

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