Rangers can change the manager, tweak the system and talk about pressing all day long, but until the defence is properly sorted we are always one lapse away from chaos at the back. That is the brutal feeling right now watching this back line try to see out games.
A back four that swings from solid to shambolic
There are moments where you look at some of our defenders and think, "Aye, there is a player in there." Then, sixty seconds later, it is like they have never seen a football in their lives. That inconsistency is killing us.
Fernandes and Djiga, in particular, seem to take turns at looking composed one minute then absolutely all over the place the next. It feels like they are passing the baton of daft errors between each other for the full ninety. Basic stuff too: switches off at the back post, poor body shape, diving into challenges they are never winning.
And when it all breaks down, we get the same picture: Tav and the two centre halves scrambling back towards our own box, chasing shadows while an opposition forward bears down on goal. It looks more like a sketch than a disciplined defensive unit. Aarons, for all his effort, is not exactly calming things down either.
Time up for Tav and this version of the back line?
At some point, you have to stop pretending small tweaks will fix it and accept that the whole defence needs a proper reset. Tav has been a massive servant and his numbers speak for themselves going forward, but the defensive side has been questioned for years. Right now, it feels like his time as the main man at full-back might be done.
You can just imagine Danny Rohl on the touchline watching yet another breakaway, wondering how many times he has to drill the same basic shape and concentration into them. You can coach structure, you can coach pressing triggers, but you cannot keep coaching the same lads out of the same mistakes forever.
Missing the steady ones and looking to the windows
What this chaos really highlights is that Souttar and Cornelius, for all their doubters, are actually the least of our defensive issues. Whatever people think of their ceilings, they give you a bit more stability and know-how than some of what we are seeing just now. Both are being missed more than some would like to admit.
The truth is, until we have a settled, dependable back four, we are going to keep living on the edge in every game. A proper defensive overhaul is needed, not just a new face here or there. Fresh legs, different profiles, and a back line that actually enjoys defending first and foremost.
So yes, roll on the January and summer windows. If this Rangers side is going to move forward under Rohl, the rebuild has to start from the back and work its way out. Because this current version of the defence just is not cutting it.
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