Barry Ferguson has filleted the current Rangers squad insisting that most of the new signings simply are not good enough.
Michael Beale's Light Blues suffered a nightmare week as they crashed out of the Champions League and also lost to Celtic in the first Old Firm derby of the season.
Sunday's result against Brendan Rodgers' Hoops sparked a fierce response from the Ibrox crowd and pressure is now mounting on manager Beale.
Ferguson has now urged the Englishman to turnaround things fast, or he could be in big trouble otherwise.
In his Daily Record column, he said: "At times like these it can be a heavy shirt to wear. I know because I’ve been there when the pressure is on and the Rangers fans have had enough of being let down by the guys in those blue jerseys. I used to be one of them.
"They certainly didn’t hold back on Sunday afternoon when they watched their team going down to defeat against their old rivals and I can’t blame them for venting their frustration. The angry reaction may have come as a shock to Michael Beale and his players but I have absolutely no issue with it. These fans expect better and they have a low tolerance level when it comes to watching an underperforming side. Which is exactly the way it should be.
"The truth is, the standard of performances has not been anywhere near good enough. That’s it. Plain and simple. As a matter of fact, the 90 minutes Rangers turned in on Sunday left me feeling completely frustrated so I was not surprised at all by the response from the supporters on the full time whistle. Like them, I went into the game believing that Celtic were there for the taking. I’ve played in too many of these games to be over confident so I wasn’t expecting a three or four nil win.
"But, even so, I was sure Rangers would have more than enough to get the result they needed against a side with some serious injury problems. That they failed to grasp that opportunity was a tipping point for the support and the patience has now run out. Some of these players might think it was an overreaction but they had better learn to deal with it because it’s their job to make these fans happy. If they can’t find a way to do that then I’m afraid they’re in the wrong movie.
"That’s just the way the big ball bounces at Rangers. If you’re not producing the goods then you’ll know all about it from the people who pay good money to come and support you. So they now have two weeks to lick their wounds and come back with a bang away to St Johnstone because they are one more bad result away from the kind of crisis which could end up costing the manager his job. I want to see an angry Rangers team at McDiarmid Park. I’m not talking about players going out there trying to leather people - I’m looking for a team with a point to prove, taking their frustration out on the opposition by rattling in four or five goals.
"Use that 90 minutes to make a statement that says they realise how badly they’ve let people down and what they intend to do about it. Winning the League Cup is now an absolute must for Beale who can’t afford to suffer another knock between now and the turn of the year. He’s had three of them already this season, after losing on the opening day of the season at Kilmarnock, getting eliminated from the Champions League and then getting turned over in the first Old Firm derby.
"There’s no more room for any further slip ups so, without any disrespect to Livingston who they’ll face in the quarter final – or any of the other teams left in the competition for that matter - Michael has to make sure he gets his hands on that trophy. In that respect, it’s safe to say the honeymoon period is well and truly over. It’s now reaching judgement time, both for the manager and for the players he has brought in.
"It’s crucial that these guys share the blame for performances like we saw on Sunday and in Eindhoven last week. They can’t just shrug their shoulders and allow the boss to be left in the firing line. For example, I’m looking at guys like Danilo, Sam Lammers, Abdullah Sima and Cyriel Dessers and asking for a whole lot more than they have brought to the table so far.
"Of all the new arrivals only Jack Butland has done enough to convince me that he is up to the job. Butland had huge gloves to fill but he looks like a proper Rangers keeper already and a really safe pair of hands. The rest? Let’s just say they have huge question marks hanging over them and time is running out to show why the manager wanted them in the first place.
"That doesn’t reflect well on Michael as he identified these guys and pushed the boat out to bring them in. But, quite clearly, they haven’t done enough to earn his trust as only Butland, Dujon Sterling and Dessers made his starting XI at the weekend - and Sterling was only in by default because Borna Barisic wasn’t fit to play. That jumped out at me when I saw the team sheet ahead of the Celtic game. It tells me that he feels the other new signings aren’t ready to play. But it begs the question, why not?
"I always say that people need to be given time to settle in and find their feet but let’s not beat about the bush, that time is running out."
