At Parkhead in January, Rangers only turned up for one half of football — and it was enough to secure an Old Firm victory.They repeated that pattern in Sunday’s derby at Ibrox. Only this time, 45 minutes of control didn’t translate into three points against Celtic.Instead, a dismal second-half performance proved costly for Danny Rohl’s team. Not just because they failed to finish off their Glasgow rivals when they had them under severe pressure, but also because of the damage done to their championship hopes.
On New Year’s Day, Rangers trailed at Celtic Park before mounting a second-half turnaround to win 3-1. But at the weekend, another Premiership stalemate — despite being firmly in command at 2-0 — hardly inspired confidence that Rangers can lift the title. And John Souttar is fully aware of that reality.
The Ibrox centre-back has enough experience to recognise what can sabotage a title push. Failing to deliver a complete 90-minute display is a warning sign. That shortcoming — the inability to close games out — is a major issue if you want to end the season as champions.
That’s why Souttar was left perplexed afterwards as to how Rangers allowed the win to slip away.
When Youssef Chermiti struck twice before the interval, they appeared in total cruise control. At that point, it seemed Rohl’s side could add several more and effectively knock Celtic out of the title equation.
Instead, Rangers dropped deeper after the break and became passive. Martin O’Neill’s side raised their intensity and capitalised, courtesy of strikes from Kieran Tierney and then Reo Hatate deep into stoppage time.Souttar struggles to pinpoint the reason for the drop in tempo, but he insists that — if they truly want to be champions — these partial performances must end.
He said: “It’s difficult to take. In the first half, I don’t think I have been involved in such a one-sided Old Firm game at Ibrox. I thought we were dominant, off the ball and on the ball. Everyone was right on it and we played on the front foot. We were aggressive, we played in their half.
“We started the second half like that for five minutes – then did the complete opposite. We didn’t get tight enough and we didn’t put them under the same pressure we had been. We allowed them to play their game, get on the ball and play between the lines. When you do that, there’s going to be moments and chances – and two fell to them.
“Personally, I think we’re at our best when we’re physical. The crowd was up in the first half when we were playing fast, aggressive football. We were the same against Hearts at home. But we’ve got to do it for the full game.
“There’s no point doing it for 45 or 50 minutes. Yes, there will be periods within the game where we can’t do it. Celtic are a good side so there will be moments when they have possession. But it’s then important that we show a bit more experience, get into a shape and be difficult to play through.”
Souttar concedes that in the immediate aftermath of the derby, it was hard to fully understand what unravelled during Rangers’ underwhelming second half.
Rohl tried to shore things up by introducing Mohamed Diomande in place of Ryan Naderi — but the Ivorian appeared isolated from midfield partners Nico Raskin and Tochi Chukwuani, leaving the hosts unable to regain authority.
Rangers seemed drained late on as Celtic equalised and threatened to snatch a remarkable comeback victory. Souttar accepts the squad fell short in a pivotal encounter but trusts that Rohl and his coaching team will address it moving forward.He said: “We’ve got to play our game and be experienced when we feel that (tension from the crowd). Sometimes when you’re 2-0 or 2-1 up in an Old Firm game, there’s going to be spells where the other team have got possession and territory. That’s when we have to stand up and be more difficult to break down.
“You have to be solid and not let them play through the lines. On Sunday, we didn’t do that. We didn’t do it in the important moments. The manager will go away and watch it to see what the big reasons are, what the takeaways are.
“Right after the game it’s so emotional when you throw away points like that. It’s difficult to properly articulate what happened and see why we gave up so much territory and possession in the second half. Why have we allowed them to get into the game? I’m sure there’ll be plenty of things we can look at. But emotions are high and boys are really frustrated.”
The harsh reality for Rangers is that the opportunity has passed. Rohl and his players now sit six points adrift of Hearts with only nine fixtures remaining.
If Celtic overcome Aberdeen on Wednesday evening, Gers will drop to third place, with an Old Firm Scottish Cup quarter-final looming next Sunday. Souttar recognises that Derek McInnes’ Jambos were the clear beneficiaries of the weekend’s outcome and acknowledges there is no margin for further errors.
He said: “Hearts were the main beneficiaries, there’s no two ways about that. If I was them, I’d be feeling exactly the same way. But there’s still a long way to go. There’s nine games and we’ve all got to play each other. So as much as it feels like six points now, let’s see after those nine games.
“Obviously, we have to be really clean now – we can’t afford any more slip-ups. We’ve got to be on it. Are we still confident we can do it? Absolutely. Sunday was a sore one but the nine games left are what we must focus on.”