Scott Arfield insists the loss of Connor Goldson was not to blame for the ‘naive’ capitulation which saw Rangers humiliated by Liverpool on Wednesday night. As Record Sport revealed earlier, Goldson could be facing a lengthy stretch on the sidelines after limping out of Ibrox on crutches following the 7-1 Champions League battering.
The Englishman has suffered a suspected severe tear in his left thigh with the club’s medical department bracing itself for bad news as they await confirmation from scans. Goldson’s long term loss would be another hammer blow for increasingly beleaguered boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst who is now under heavy fire after taking charge of the club’s worst ever European defeat.
His side collapsed spectacularly from the moment his defensive stalwart had to be replaced after pulling up in a challenge with Uruguay striker Darwin Nunez. But Arfield, who got the Battle of Britain part II off to a flying start with an early opening goal, has rubbished suggestions that Rangers can’t cope without Goldson’s influence at the heart of their back four.
And he refused to blame the 29-year-old’s untimely injury on the second half horror show which saw Jurgen Klopp’s side run riot in front of a disbelieving home crowd - smashing home six goals without reply. Instead, Arfield believes Rangers were punished for failing to do the basics as they were swept aside by wave after wave of Liverpool attacks.
Arfield said: “He's a massive player for us. He rarely misses training sessions, far less games. But you can't blame it all on that. In the second half we lost our structure - there was naivety. We needed to stay compact because these players can hurt you in a transition. At this level, you get punished for those mistakes.
“Overall you are looking at the scoreline and it is just not good enough. It is naivety probably, structure off the ball. These players punish you. I had a taste of that down south for years. One slack pass, one moment in transition and these players punish you.”
It now seems certain that Rangers will be without Goldson until after the World Cup in Qatar. And that spells trouble for Van Bronckhorst ahead of a potentially troublesome away trip to Motherwell on Sunday as his side attempts to stay in touch with Celtic at the top of the table. But Arfield has called on his team mates to shrug off the Group A walloping quickly - and now allow self pity to undermine their domestic ambitions.
He went on: "The result is disappointing but there's nothing you can do now. You can't get too demoralised. You're playing against a team and players who have been in three European Cup finals in the last five years."
And he even refused to write off Rangers’ chances of recovering from a fourth straight Champions League defeat to salvage third spot in the group and a safety net shot at the Europa League. Next up is a daunting away trip to face Serie A leaders Napoli who smashed another four goals past Ajax on Wednesday to cement their position at the top with 12 points from 12.
But that result has left the struggling Dutch outfit sitting on three points. And Arfield believes they can still be overtaken when they leave Amsterdam for Ibrox on the final night of the group stages. He said: "We've got a chance to put it right in Napoli, another chance here against Ajax. The place will be rocking again. There are big games coming and we want to be here again next season."
But, despite his bullishness, Arfield admits Rangers have been left badly bruised by their latest brutal beating - dished out by a Liverpool side which coasted to a 2-0 win at Anfield last week.
He said: “The place was absolutely rocking after that first goal and continued like that for most of the first half. We were really at it and wanted to rectify the mistakes from Anfield. We wanted to have a go in this game and I thought we did that in the first half. The set piece that they score changes it a little bit. I had a big chance just before half-time to try and get a second goal. But we didn’t get it and it became a game of two halves. These players come on and punish you. You need to bottle it, remember it, and we have got two games to put it right.”
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