Three league wins from eight games since the winter break is more like relegation form than that of a team chasing the title.
But that is the worry return for champions Rangers as their title defence stutters from yet more post winter blues.
It’s a familiar story for Ibrox legions following successive collapses in Steven Gerrard’s first two seasons in charge.
And given they continue to progress in Europe it makes for a real comparison.
Here, Record Sport Online looks at five major issues that need to be addressed both by Van Bronckhorst and elsewhere in the club following the 2-2 draw against Motherwell.
Allan McGregor
Record Sport columnist Barry Ferguson has consistently said his former team-mate is worth 15 points a season since he returned to Ibrox in 2018.
There is no doubt the veteran’s experience and ability was key in Rangers getting their hands on that Scottish Premiership trophy last season.
However, at 40 years old – although in fairness it’s not unusual for goalkeepers to play until that age – is this a season too far?
Dundee United’s Benjamin Siegrist has been linked but, short term, Jon McLaughlin has rarely let the Light Blues down when called upon and could be due a chance when Rangers travel to McDiarmid Park on Wednesday.
Beaten far too easily at his near post for Motherwell’s equaliser but it’s not the first time this season.
John Lundstram in defence
The former Sheffield United man dropping back was hailed as a tactical masterstroke by Giovanni van Bronckhorst against Borussia Dortmund.
But was it a wise move for the Motherwell clash? Even if he wasn’t necessarily to blame for any of the goals, his loss was possibly felt more with his absence in the middle of the park where they were already without Ryan Jack.
If Leon Balogun was fit enough to take his place on the bench then presumably he was fit to play and would have been an option or Calvin Bassey who could have moved in and allowed Borna Barisic, albeit the Croat is low in confidence, at left back.
Recruitment
There was plenty of hype around the two January arrivals in Amad Diallo and Aaron Ramsey but the duo haven’t contributed enough.
Diallo remained on the bench on Sunday after his 17 minutes at Tannadice the previous week during which he squandered a great chance to seal the points.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst insisted Juventus loan man Ramsey hadn’t suffered any kind of setback after missing the draws against Dundee United and Borussia Dortmund.
However, the Welshman was nowhere to be seen yet again and it’s a signing now with plenty of question marks.
Sporting director Ross Wilson was praised for bringing in the loan duo and must now accept the flak coming his way given their lack of contribution so far.
Mentality
Steven Gerrard’s side were accused of being bottlers after collapsing after the winter break two seasons in a row.
They got over that final hurdle at the third attempt to win the club’s historic 55th league championship crown.
However, after a shaky start to this season they were then accused of failing to cope with the pressure of playing in front of fans – and that empty stadiums helped in their title win.
That was dismissed by Gerrard but there’s no doubt the mentality of the squad is now under scrutiny, especially given their failure to win against the Steelmen came after Celtic had dropped points.
Profligacy
There can be no arguing against the number of chances that Rangers are creating and should still have beaten Motherwell despite their vulnerability in defence.
It was obvious during his time on international duty that Alfredo Morelos is a big miss when taken out of the side.
And they would be in a much worse position if it wasn’t for the Colombian who scored on and had another couple chopped off.
But they need to be ore clinical in front of goal with almost 60 shots in the games against Dundee United and Motherwell yet they failed to win either and conceded three from just five efforts against them. Those statistics highlight a major issue.
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