Defender would be off regardless: Three things learned about Rangers in draw v Hibernian
COMMENT
Rangers failed to secure a second-place finish in the Scottish Premiership after a 5-5 draw with Hibernian at Easter Road on the final day of the Scottish Premiership season wasn't enough to overhaul Aberdeen who picked up a win at Celtic Park.
The Light Blues found themselves 3-0 down after 20 minutes before roaring into a 5-3 lead but slack defending let the hosts back into the game to drawl level in stoppage time.
A number of the Gers players made their final appearance for the Glasgow giants - while a host of others could follow them out the door over the summer - and fans will be glad to get the season over and await the arrival of Steven Gerrard as manager.
Gerrard will have spotted several big problems that will need addressed when he takes the reins on June 1st and will be well aware of the size of the task facing him in the summer.
Here, Football Insider looks at three things we learned from the 5-5 draw with Hibs
Click 'reveal' below to see the change that really helped Rangers
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Three-man defence could be answer for Gers
Rangers caretaker manager Jimmy Nicholl made a very bold decision midway through the first-half when he sacrificed the disappointing Sean Goss for Bruno Alves and moved to a three-man central defence.
The introduction of the Portuguese international calmed the Gers defence down and they looked more assured with three, rather than two, centre-backs.
Bringing in better defenders would also be a big help but it will all depend on what sort of shape Steven Gerrard prefers to set his side out in.
Click 'next page' below to see what Gerrard needs to deal with when he arrives
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Rangers players make too many stupid decisions
Jason Holt's red card and the penalty conceded by David Bates were just the last in a long, long line of poor decisions made by Rangers players this season - and Steven Gerrard needs to get players who are less prone to making rash choices.
You can go back through the last few seasons and there are a constant stream of baffling decisions - Josh Windass shushing fans being a prime example - and Gerrard needs to weed that sort of stuff out of the dressing-room.
If the Gers can get a team of players who aren't prone to leaving their team-mates in the lurch at any given moment then they would have a much better chance of closing the gap to Celtic.
Click 'next page' below to see the Gers player who would always have been replaced this summer
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Bates would have been replaced this summer
David Bates' Rangers career is in its final days as he prepares to join recently-relegated Hamburg this summer - but the Gers defender was almost certainly going to have been replaced this summer regardless of if he stayed at Ibrox.
Bates showed exactly why there are still some who have huge doubts over his long-term potential and his performance against Hibs was nowhere near good enough.
The former Raith Rovers star has been helped by playing in a struggling defence but is never going to be the answer for the Gers if they hope to win the title.
A move to Germany might well make him a far better player in the long run but he isn't good enough that he can be relied on over a title-winning season.