You could see what they’re trying to do, and for a spell after they scored it actually looked like the plan was landing. The issue is the same one that catches plenty sides when they commit bodies forward and try to play on the front foot: the back door gets left open.
The danger of going man-to-man behind the ball
If you attack with numbers and leave it man on man at the back, you’re basically daring the opposition to be brave in transition. That’s where St Mirren had joy. Not by doing anything fancy either, just moving it quickly into the spaces that appear when full-backs and centre-halves get dragged into duels.
It’s the sort of thing that looks great when you’re on top because the pitch feels big going one way and small going the other. But when it flips, even for two minutes, it becomes frantic. One missed header, one second ball not claimed, one runner not tracked, and suddenly you’re asking defenders to do emergency defending with no protection.
Balance, not just speed
The other part of it is the decision-making once you win it. Fans always shout for “move it forward”, and Rangers supporters are as guilty of that as anyone. But there’s a difference between playing with tempo and simply forcing it.
If the first look is a hopeful ball forward every single time, you can end up handing the opposition cheap turnovers. Then you’re straight back into those man-to-man situations again, chasing the next phase. The teams that make this kind of approach work usually have a couple of calming touches in midfield, or they rotate to create a safer angle before they punch through.
That’s why it can take time. The instinct has to change. When to go, when to hold, when to draw a press, when to spin it wide. It’s not glamorous, but it’s what turns a “style” into something you can actually win with regularly.
Stats are fine, but context matters
There’s also been a bit of number-waving about managerial records. The comparison being made is a 51% win rate for one manager across his career versus around 38% for Le Bris, plus goals for and goals against per game. It’s fair enough to cite, but it’s never a clean comparison when the levels and squads aren’t like-for-like.
Different leagues, different resources, different expectations. A B-team environment, for example, can be a totally different job to leading a first team that lives and dies on results. So yes, you can use the numbers, but you’ve got to be careful what you’re proving with them.
Truth is, time will tell. From a Rangers point of view, you’d obviously rather any rivals take a while to get it right. And if their fans start acting like we do when results aren’t there, well, that’s just football in Glasgow and beyond.
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