Neil McCann reckons Rangers fans have every right to be concerned about the current direction of the club.
There's been ongoing discontent between Gers supporters and the Ibrox board, and that's intensified further as the on-field results continue to be inconsistent.
Rangers are now nine points behind joint-leaders Aberdeen and Celtic in the Scottish Premiership standings following their 2-1 defeat at Pittodrie on Wednesday. Many punters are calling for manager Philippe Clement to be shown the exit door despite the Belgian penning a new contract extension at the beginning of August.
McCann questions whether Clement's underperforming side can handle the incessant pressure if they fail to find top form.
The former Rangers winger points out that the Rangers gaffer can't take all the criticism, simply stating that the playing squad must stomach some responsibility.
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McCann appeared on The Warm-Up, William Hill's weekly SPFL preview show, and said: “There’s no way of swerving the question. I think everybody with a Rangers mind, looking at this from the outside should be concerned and will be concerned. Because Aberdeen have shown what’s possible with just galvanizing a group.
“It’s the same old thing, they should be concerned because there’s a group of players in there that I think are showing a real level of inconsistency. Character is so important because individually sometimes you need to dig deep into your own character and see if you can deal with that pressure. Right now they’re coming under intense pressure, as is the manager. Sometimes a manager, you can only do so much. It comes to the individual on the pitch.”
Celtic hero Paul Lambert then chimed in to highlight how player's and manager's don't get time to settle into life at either side of the Glasgow divide due to the huge levels of expectancy at the club's.
“You don’t get time [at Rangers and Celtic]," he explained. "You’re only as good as your last pass at those clubs, that’s all you are. So unless you grasp the clubs pretty quickly and think you have to win at all costs, you’re going to go under. And that’s what’s happened to Rangers at the minute. I don’t know the lads, but they don’t look like they’ve got the character to pull them through it.”
The Swede has guided the north-east outfit to 15 wins from his 16 matches in charge. That form has the Dons sitting nine points ahead of Rangers in the league table and also helped earn a Premier Sports Cup semi-final outing against Celtic this weekend.
Thelin has made the word 'humble' his slogan in an attempt to keep the Aberdeen squad ticking along so successfully without getting too carried away.
Naturally there's title talk despite only being three months into the season, and McCann, who made almost 200 appearances for Rangers, believes the plaudits directed towards Aberdeen are fully justified.
“First of all, the atmosphere was brilliant," he admitted. "Having played in that fixture lots of times. The rivalry is pretty intense. Played at a time where it didn’t even matter what kind of personality you were, you pulled on a Rangers shirt and stepped on to Pittodrie and you were instantly coming under fire.
“That fixture has got a wee bit about it. You can actually feel the hatred. The atmosphere going in there, I think they blew a good player budget for a year on the fireworks and pyrotechnics.
“I think it’s justified what they’re doing up there. I think it’s fantastic. What Jimmy Thelin has done coming into that club has really revolutionised the feeling in Aberdeen right now. A lot of people are saying ‘can they win it and the answer coming from the camp is the old clichés. I have to say right now, in terms of form the form would suggest they’re title challengers.”
