Rangers have been top of the Scottish Championship all season but some of their players were shocked to be abused in the street after last weekend’s defeat by Falkirk, Mark Warburton revealed. The Ibrox manager made the disclosure ahead of tomorrow’s visit by Hibs, who have closed the gap between Rangers and themselves — which at one stage could have been as much as 11 points — so that the sides are now separated only by goal difference.
The prospect of failing to win the automatic promotion spot for a second season in succession has unnerved some Rangers supporters and Warburton admitted: “I’ve been intrigued by what’s happened off the pitch. Previously, the boys have had a lot of positive comments but how do they deal with the negativity of last week when they go out for a walk?
“A couple of guys got a bit of abuse from some fans. How do you deal with that?
“It’s not a one-way street. Things can’t always be rosy for them. You grow and learn from it. I think they were shocked by it but that’s the nature of fans. I’m not sure what team they supported – I didn’t ask for the details – but fans are demanding and impatient, it’s the nature of the game.
“Players and staff are in a great job, so just deal with it. It’s good for the boys to get a bit of stick – it’s character building, isn’t it?
“If you’re stronger for it, great. They recognise the goldfish bowl of football in Glasgow. Now they have to respond to it.”
Rangers have now won only two of their six most recent league games, in vivid contrast to the early form that saw them run up 11 successive victories before losing to Hibs at Easter Road on Nov 1. Since then they have beaten only Alloa and Dumbarton.
“I don’t think the players have lost focus after winning the first 11 games. I would say so if there was,” Warburton said: “We’d have made that public but far from it.
“Teams are now looking at how they’re going to play against Rangers and that’s a compliment to the start we had. They opened up against us and we showed good quality. Now, we have to find different solutions to different problems.
“I’m always worried about setting targets but we know what we have to do at Rangers. The expectation of the crowd is very clear, that won’t change.
“We have to recognise, appreciate and relish it. If you don’t enjoy that, don’t do this job.”
Many Rangers fans have expressed concern about what they see as Warburton’s lack of flexibility. He is, however, not inclined to see fault in the methods that worked well in the early stages of the campaign.
“Plan B is doing Plan A better. We try to do what we do well,” he said.
“We talk about looking after the football and not being sloppy in what we do. If we do that, we give teams a chance, so just do Plan A better, improve your touch, quality of pass, decision-making. That will make you better.
“My principles are not obstinate. What’s obstinate is being bottom of the league and saying what you’re doing is right. We’re a young squad and we’re top of the league. We’re evolving as a team. We’re having some success but it won’t be done overnight. You learn from your mistakes.
“I’m not comparing us to Barcelona or Bayern Munich, but those teams just do what we do, better.
“The teams who buy players on £200k a week do what ourselves and Hibs do, better. Their players are quicker, stronger, sharper with their pass. That’s why they’re on £200k a week.
“I hear supporters saying, get us a centre-forward, he’s 6ft 4, technically outstanding and rapid. Yeah, OK. Our players have been first class and we’ll be fine.”
Falkirk’s 1-0 win at home to Dumbarton yesterday brought them to within three points of the joint leaders. Meanwhile, in the Scottish Premiership, Aberdeen blew their chance to leapfrog Celtic at the top of the table ahead of the champions’ meeting with third-placed Hearts at Tynecastle.
The Dons fell 2-0 behind at home to Inverness, for whom Liam Polworth and Greg Tansey, with a penalty kick, scored on either side of the interval. Niall McGinn’s 73rd-minute strike fuelled a fightback which saw Adam Rooney net the equaliser from the spot for his 51st goal of the season.
Aberdeen are now level on points with Celtic but have played two games more. Elsewhere, Tope Obadeyi scored the only goal at Hamilton to give Kilmarnock their first win for two months, while a hat-trick for Liam Boyce was the highlight of Ross County’s 5-2 thrashing of Dundee in Dingwall.
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