One of the accusations thrown at the current Rangers team is that it is too soft and that there aren’t enough winners.
Gone are the days when you’d see legends like Terry Butcher, Richard Gough or Barry Ferguson roaring at teammates for not doing their jobs.
Instead, Rangers fans see heads going down and finger pointing after every calamitous goal conceded – could that all be about to change though?
Thomas Galdames shows winning Rangers mentality
Thomas Galdames is said to be close to finalising a move to Europe with Rangers named as one of the clubs chasing his signature.
Capable of playing at centre-half or as a left-back, there are shades of Calvin Bassey as to how he goes about his game, although he prefers playing centrally.
He’s aggressive in and out of possession and loves nothing better than when he has to defend one-v-one, sometimes with the most unorthodox of techniques.
Without wanting to cast aspersions, can you imagine Borna Barisic doing something like this:
Galdames is clearly a player who wants to win at all costs.
He’s also a player who is more than happy to put his body on the line.
Mentality change needed if Rangers are to win title
It’s the little things that add up during a game and the Chilean defender could easily have conceded possession rather than putting himself at risk which makes Barry Ferguson’s comments after dropping points to Dundee and Ross County in the same week all the more pertinent:
“It also raises a lot of unwanted questions about the mentality of some of these guys and about the strength of their character and desire.
“Every man and his dog have had something to say about it over the last 48 hours.
“Are they prepared to go that extra mile and fight and scratch for the badge on their chest? Or do they not really have the stomach for it?”
After praising Rangers for coming back from 2-0 down against Celtic at Ibrox that gave a glimmer of hope, the legendary skipper was far from impressed with what followed:
“But to follow that up with the kind of lacklustre performances they’ve produced at Ross County and Dundee? At such a monumentally important stage in the season? I honestly can’t get my head around it.”
Ferguson is right, Leon Balogun touched on the issue of confidence after the Scottish Cup final and it is a problem that needs to be rooted out of Rangers.
Filip Helander is probably the only defender we’ve had in recent seasons, Jon Flanagan maybe, who would put their head in where it really hurts and Philippe Clement really needs this sort of steel in his defence.
There is going to be a clear out in the summer and it can only be hoped that those who have failed on so many occasions in the past aren’t allowed to drag those who have the heart and desire needed to be a success down.
