Rangers Struggle with Declining Form at the Worst Possible Time: One-Off Loss vs. Wider Trend of Underperformance

The recent results of Rangers have shown that their long undefeated runs, or stretches of successive victories, don’t last all season. This is exactly what manager Philippe Clement had been saying a while back. Their performance over the weekend in the Highlands was disappointing and should not be filed away under ‘one-offs’. The trend behind this latest result suggests that there might be a more worrying dip in form at just the wrong time for the Ibrox side.

In their last four Premiership matches, Rangers have only won one game. They have lost five points at home to Motherwell and Celtic and another three points in Dingwall to an inspired Ross County. With only four points left from their last available dozen matches, it seems that they are struggling to keep up with the competition. Even across all competitions, they have won just twice in their last seven outings.

The effort to reel in the seven-point Premiership deficit inherited by Clement has taken its toll on his team, especially with the added burden of a successful League Cup campaign and a run to the Europa League last 16. However, Celtic’s form these past four months has been patchy as well. In 17 league matches since early December, they have dropped 15 points. But were it not for Rabbi Matondo’s fabulous stoppage-time equaliser at Ibrox, they would have had a perfect record in their last four outings.

Despite this setback, Rangers are still masters of their own destiny if they can find a way to win on the infamous Dens Park pitch. So much has been said about this fixture already that if they cannot succeed here, their title hopes will come crashing down on them like an old car wreckage. The bump in the road could quickly turn into a disaster if Clement cannot steer his side back to winning ways before it is too late