Rangers: Maybe It’s Finally Time to Stop Hitting the Panic Button

Rangers: Maybe It’s Finally Time to Stop Hitting the Panic Button

For far too long now, Rangers Football Club has been stuck in a cycle.

New manager.

New players.

New promises.

New beginnings.

And then, sooner or later, the same old problems return.

For around 15 years, there has been far too much failure, disappointment and frustration at Ibrox. Managers have come and gone, squads have been rebuilt time and time again, and supporters have repeatedly been told that this time things will be different.

Yet the same mistakes seem to keep happening.

There is no point pretending otherwise.

For many Rangers supporters, going out of Europe altogether — not even making the Conference League — felt like rock bottom. A club of Rangers' size and stature simply shouldn't be finding itself in that position.

It was embarrassing. It was hugely disappointing. And it felt like another low point in a period that has contained far too many of them.

But perhaps, sometimes, you really do have to hit rock bottom before you can finally start moving forward. And maybe — just maybe — that's where Rangers are now.

A different feeling

Another new squad has been assembled, and nobody is suggesting that everything has suddenly been fixed. Far from it.

There are still plenty of questions surrounding Rangers. There are still areas that need strengthening, and there will undoubtedly be setbacks along the way.

But something does feel a little different. Under Derek McInnes, Rangers have now put together three consecutive Scottish league victories, and the performances are beginning to show signs of a team that actually knows what it wants to do with a football.

We're seeing better attacking football.

We're seeing more movement.

We're seeing players beginning to understand their roles

.

And, most importantly, we're beginning to see individuals who look like they might actually have the quality required to play for Rangers.

Minsu Kim, seems to be on one of those players.

He looks to have settled into his surroundings and is beginning to show exactly why Rangers brought him through the door. Olwethu Makhanya, in defence also looks like he could be a very good find, while there are several others who are starting to give supporters reasons to be excited about what might be possible.

Dan Neil has taken some time to find his footing, but his performance at Ibrox on Saturday suggested he might be the crucial player we've been seeking in midfield.

It's early.

Very early.

But that's the point.

For once, perhaps we should allow something to develop before deciding whether it has failed.

Four wins?

A victory over St Mirren today would make it four Scottish league wins in a row.

Nobody should be pretending that four wins suddenly means Rangers are back where they belong.

It doesn't.

Nobody should be claiming that Derek McInnes has suddenly solved every problem at Rangers.

He hasn't.

And nobody should be getting carried away.

But four wins would represent something that Rangers have desperately needed for a long time — momentum.

Sometimes rebuilding isn't about one huge moment where everything suddenly clicks.

Sometimes it's about small steps.

One win becomes two.

Two becomes three.

Three becomes four.

Confidence grows.

Players settle.

A manager gets to implement his ideas.

A squad begins to understand one another.

And supporters start believing again.

That's how you build something.

Maybe we need to do things differently

And this is perhaps the biggest question facing Rangers supporters.

Are we prepared to give this time?

Because if we genuinely believe that Rangers have been getting things wrong for 15 years, then surely we can't keep doing exactly the same thing and expecting a different outcome.

We cannot demand patience while simultaneously demanding instant success.

We cannot say we want a manager to build something and then hit the panic button every time a result doesn't go our way.

Football doesn't work like that.

If Derek McInnes is the man Rangers have chosen to lead this next chapter, then perhaps — for once — we need to give him the opportunity to actually build something.

Not over three months.

Not over six months.

Not until the first bad run of results.

Over years.

Give him time to develop a squad.

Give him time to move players on.

Give him time to bring his own players in.

Give him time to develop young talent.

Give him time to establish a style of football.

Give him time to build a team rather than constantly forcing another rebuild.

Because perhaps the constant chopping and changing is part of the problem.

We've been here before

Rangers supporters are naturally demanding.

We expect to win.

We expect trophies.

We expect European football.

We expect Rangers to compete at the very highest level domestically.

That's never going to change — and nor should it.

But patience doesn't mean lowering standards.

It means understanding that sometimes the best way to reach those standards is to stop constantly tearing everything apart and starting again.

Maybe this time we need to see where this road takes us.

Maybe the answer isn't another manager.

Maybe it isn't another 10 or 15 players.

Maybe it's stability.

Maybe it's allowing a manager to build a team in his image and giving that team the time to mature.

Because after 15 years of failure, perhaps the biggest mistake we could make now is panicking at the first sign of adversity and starting the whole process again.

We have hit rock bottom.

Now let's see if we can finally start climbing.