Rangers told to reverse shock Ibrox ban after John Gilligan’s confession
Rangers and new interim chairman John Gilligan have a lot of work to do if they want to catch rivals Celtic in the Scottish Premier League title race.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, ex-Celtic striker Frank McAvennie believes it will take Rangers a ‘couple of years’ to close the gap on their Old Firm rivals but admits ‘stranger things have happened’ in football.
Philippe Clement’s side lag five points behind Celtic who sit at the summit having won each of their five league games without conceding a goal.
The two clubs met earlier in the season and Rangers were unable to come up with any answers for Celtic’s superior attacking play.
Rangers nowhere near Celtic at the moment
With Celtic currently ahead of them on and off the pitch, Rangers have a lot of catching up to do if they want to remain the most successful club in Scotland.
“In a couple of years maybe”, McAvennie told Football Insider.
“I don’t know, I mean stranger things have happened, nothing surprises me anymore in football but there’s a gap.
“People say it’s not huge but it was men against boys.
“When I played in the 90s, Rangers were going for nine in a row but we still went to Ibrox and beat them.
“We fought tooth and nail, I didn’t see any fight in Rangers, I didn’t see anything.
“That’s my biggest concern for Rangers, it’s alright going and beating Ross County but you’ve got to go and beat your rivals.
“They haven’t done that in a long time.
“I don’t think the new chairman is going to change that any time soon because the players are still the same.
“If they’re on about not letting the players swear in training, that’s a discipline that shouldn’t be anywhere near football.
“They’re back at Ibrox, they’ll be delighted with that, the players we will be delighted, the supporters may not be as happy with some of the restricted views but maybe that will boost the players.
“John Gilligan is John Gilligan, he’ll come in and say the right things, try to steady it, as he said he wants the old Chairman to shut up and not have a go at the club.
“I didn’t like last Thursday, some of the players at Celtic say ‘We’re not scared of anyone in Europe because of their good result against Bratislava.
“I’m thinking ‘Oh, shut up’ you just don’t want that, you just get on with it for the next game and that’s what Rangers should be doing.”
In other news, Rangers fans stunned by what Sam Lammers did vs Man United.
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