Keith Jackson says Rangers star will be raging with teammates after what happened in Celtic draw
Jack Butland would have been raging at his Rangers teammates for not reacting quickly enough to Celtic’s penalty miss in Sunday’s 2-2 draw.
That is according to Daily Record writer Keith Jackson, who could not believe that Reo Hatate was repeatedly allowed to have another bite at the cherry after his first two efforts were saved by Butland.
The Rangers goalkeeper did well to save the Japanese midfielder’s first effort from the spot, pulled off a terrific reaction save to deny him again, but was powerless to stop Hatate poking in from close range in the 91st minute at Ibrox.
This was a crushing blow for Danny Rohl‘s side as they looked primed to race to victory after roaring into a 2-0 first-half lead with a superb opening 45 minutes.
But it wasn’t to be, and now questions over Rangers’ mentality have sprung up again as they bid to chase down Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts.
Do Rangers have a ‘mentality’ problem?
In the aftermath of this latest Old Firm draw, Jackson raised concerns about Rangers’ chances of lifting the league title for the first time since 2021.
Jackson pointed out that Rangers’ energy levels reduced significantly in the second half, but the fact that multiple Celtic players were quickest to react to the missed penalty troubled him deeply.
He said on Daily Record’s Hotline Live: “That’s why I’m wondering, that’s why I’m curious, because I don’t know if it’s a mentality issue, is it a weakness in them that drained them of their energy because they’re almost exhausted by it, the nervousness?
“I don’t know, but what I do know is, if I’m Jack Butland and I save the penalty, and then I follow up with a save from the rebound, I’m absolutely going through everybody inside that dressing room when I get off the pitch, [and asking] ‘Where were you?’
“Again, that comes back to mentality. If Rangers have got the right mentality at that moment, such a huge moment at the end of the match, there’s got to be a blue shirt in there. I struggle with that, because a side that’s really mentally strong in a situation like that, somebody has to get back there.”
Indeed, Rangers’ players didn’t appear to want it as much as Celtic, perhaps off the back of being resigned to seeing their lead slip away.
Some Gers individuals had a stop-start approach when the spotkick was taken, whereas Hatate and the onrushing Daizen Maeda hurtled towards goal.
This was a damaging blow for Rangers’ title bid, but can they bounce back from it on Sunday when Celtic visit Ibrox again in the Scottish Cup?
Is Rangers’ lack of experience shining through?
Whenever a team wins a league title, it is usually down to having a mix of experience and youth in the team. Rangers certainly have that, but are the scales tipped too much towards the young blood?
For instance, the Gers had an attacking line of Youssef Chermiti, 21, Ryan Naderi, 22, and Mikey Moore, 18.
Further back, the Scottish giants started 22-year-olds Tochi Chukwuani and Tuur Rommens, plus 24-year-old defender Emmanuel Fernandez.
That led Daily Record journalist Scott McDermott to question if this relative lack of experience was an issue.
He also said on Hotlive Live: “I’m not making excuses for them, but the only thing I would say is, this Rangers team is pretty young and pretty inexperienced when you look at it.”
Rangers lock horns with Celtic again, this time in the Scottish Cup quarter-finals on Sunday at Ibrox. The victor could get a huge boost for the rest of the league campaign if they come out on top in the cup.
Either way, Rohl needs to find an answer to this late trouble in games that keeps repeating.
For the latest on Rangers and their bid to win the Scottish Premiership, visit Football Insider.
The post Keith Jackson says Rangers star will be raging with teammates after what happened in Celtic draw appeared first on Ibrox News.
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