With five games to go last season, Rangers were dreaming of the Premiership title and a route into the Champions League. Four games into this term, they are off the pace domestically and consigned to the Conference League.
A 1-1 draw with Jagiellonia Bialystok extended Derek McInnes' winless run as manager. A play-off now awaits as Rangers walk a continental tightrope.
Lawrence Shankland opened his account with his first competitive goal to give Rangers the lead on the night. A clinical penalty after 18 minutes made it 2-2 in the tie but there was still plenty of work for McInnes' side to do.
Rangers had the better of the second period but it was the Poles who scored the second goal of the evening. A Nik Prelec header put them ahead in the tie. In the end, it was enough to give Bialystok what they came here for.
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Four without a victory for McInnes
‘We could all do with a win’. The words of McInnes pre-match spoke to several truths. The first three games of his tenure had, after all, not exactly gone to plan. Game four can be added to the list.
With every manager, the window of opportunity and room for manoeuvre gets smaller and smaller. McInnes will now be feeling the pressure like never before in his short but not very sweet reign. Those who have been here for longer than the first weeks of the term will not need reminding of how quickly things can go from bad to worse here.
Drawing with Dundee United and losing successive matches to Bialystok and Hibernian was not what McInnes wanted, needed or expected. This was, therefore, a chance to find a spark, to find a way to inject a bit of momentum into the side and the support. It was one that Rangers blew in abysmal fashion.
Four matches without a win is not acceptable at this club. McInnes will know that. He is the one that must change it.
A Conference League play-off with Jablonec of the Czech Republic now awaits. The first leg will be held here next Thursday. Before that, St Mirren arrive on League Cup duty. It is the latest must-win for Rangers.
Red flags in the final third
A couple of weeks ago, Shankland stood 12 yards from goal at the Broomloan end and converted to score his first goal for his boyhood club. That strike against Saint-Etienne will have meant a lot to the striker. Not as much as this one, though. This one really mattered. Or, it did at the time.
There was a sense that Shankland needed a goal. After 17 minutes, he was presented with the chance to score it after a VAR check saw Yuki Kobayashi penalised for handball. Shankland fired the ball beyond Slawomir Abramowicz to give Rangers the lead on the night and pull them level in the tie.
A second goal would have made the half-time team talk a little bit easier for McInnes. It didn’t materialise, though, as a handful of chances, some better than others, went unconverted. Nico Raskin fired ballooned an effort over the target minutes after being unable to head home.
Thelo Aasgaard’s drive from distance was narrowly wide of Abramowicz’s right-hand post. The best opening fell to Ryan Naderi after a neat flick from Shankland but a corner was the German’s only reward from a shot from the left channel.
The lack of goals from open play had been a concern before kick-off. Here, it became a real worry. Naderi again carried very little threat and does not look clinical.
Shankland, meanwhile, did not offer enough and either could have been replaced before Bojan Miovski was introduced with 15 minutes remaining. Naderi and Djeidi Gassama made way at that stage, with Findlay Curtis also added into the attack. It made little impact.
One does it for Bialystok
The first warning signs came in the opening minutes as the visitors’ blueprint became evident early on. Rodrigo Conceicao was the out ball down the Jagiellonia right as he sought to exploit the space left by a dozing Gassama.
The winger almost got an assist to his name inside a quarter of an hour as he, again without a proper challenge against him, nodded a cross into the path of Jesus Imaz. Ivor Pandur was able to save. Seconds earlier, the keeper was beaten as Imaz burst through the centre of the defence and saw his shot come back off Pandur’s right-hand post.
Pandur and the Bialystok No.11 were having their own personal dual. Another strike from Imaz forced Pandur into action once again. The keeper was busier than Rangers would have wanted him to be.
The avenue to Conceicao was exploited again and Rangers almost paid the price. A cross from the right found Prelec at the back post but was slightly ahead of the striker. He got a connection, but only enough to knock it across goal and wide.
His next connection was clinical. A cross from the left picked out Prelec and a powerful header beat Pandur. With 25 minutes left, Rangers were behind again. Soon, they were out.
Tactical tinkering doesn't work
The McInnes era has been a bit mix and match so far in terms of team selections and formations. Some of the holes have had square pegs in them as the manager has sought to find the answers to so many questions. Here, he had another go at it.
To some extent, his hands were tied. The loss of Tuur Rommens for a several weeks, as exclusively revealed by the Rangers Review on Tuesday, saw McInnes change shape rather than utilise Dujon Sterling on the opposite side. Sterling was instead used in a three alongside Manny Fernandez and Olwethu Makhanya.
It allowed McInnes to get his preferred forward line of two on the park. He was, of course, one option down following Youssef Chermiti’s ACL injury. Naderi got the nod ahead of Bojan Miovski to partner Shankland.
One of the theories from supporters when McInnes was appointed was that he would make Rangers harder to play against and harder to play through. That hasn’t been the case so far and wasn’t the case here and the visitors had too much joy for McInnes’ liking.
The shape switched again at the break. Aasgaard was removed and Ross McCrorie was introduced at left-back. It was 4-4-2 from Rangers. That remained when Cammy Devlin and Vanja Dragojevic replaced Raskin and Dan Neil.
It was a night that didn’t see many questions answered. Instead, it was further evidence that McInnes is still searching for the right shape and the right personnel. Both must be found soon.
Ibrox reaction tells its own story
It was five minutes before kick-off and the Blue Sea of Ibrox was played over the PA system. The plan was for the music to be cut and the crowd to take over seamlessly, the fans given the chance to build the atmosphere for themselves.
The mute button was pressed and the decibel level almost dropped to zero around the ground before the Union Bears took up the chant. Quite why AC/DC has become the last song played before a ball is kicked is another matter.
That moment was somewhat indicative of the mood amongst the support. The sun beamed through gap between the Main Stand and the Broomloan and the stands were filled by fans short sleeves. All the ingredients were there, apart from a real belief amongst those off the park towards those on the park.
There was enough to keep the fans interested, if not completely entertained. Those situated high in the Main Stand did, at least, get a glimpse of Couhaib Drioeuch as he watched on alongside his representatives. His £7million deal from PSV Eindhoven is not finalised yet.
Those decked out in red and yellow in the corner had made a constant noise since taking their seats. When Prelec headed them level on the night, the several-hundred strong away end erupted.
The board went up to signal four added minutes and fans headed for the exits in their thousands. The boos and abuse that followed was all visceral.
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