Kris Commons slams 'pitiful' Rangers as former Celtic star casts doubt on Gio van Bronckhorst's future

Kris Commons reckons Giovanni van Bronckhorst's controversial Champions League comments will have set alarm bells ringing at Rangers.

The Ibrox boss angered supporters after a 4-0 drubbing from Ajax last week when he insisted his side can't compete in the competition without "hundreds of millions". The sobering result in Amsterdam followed losing to Celtic by the same scoreline just days earlier and piled pressure on Van Bronckhorst.

His side are already five points adrift of their city rivals in the Premiership and, after the manager's "defeatist" claims, Commons says he feels sorry for fans who forked out a hefty sum for the club's three-match Champions League ticket package. The former Celtic star isn't having the notion Rangers - who reached last season's Europa League final - can't lay a glove on the likes of Ajax and has told Van Bronckhorst to cut out the excuses. He wrote in his Daily Mail column: "The alarm bells are beginning to ring for Rangers.

"Two pitiful 4-0 defeats in a matter of days have posed serious questions of Giovanni van Bronckhorst 's future as manager. But, even beyond the results against Celtic and Ajax, it was his comments after the Champions League defeat in Amsterdam which will have angered fans most of all.

"Supporters won't be impressed to hear their manager claiming that the team can't compete at that level. It's nothing more than a convenient excuse.

"Yes, I understand that Ajax are a big club and they played some excellent football on the night. But they're not a Real Madrid, a Man City, a Liverpool, a Chelsea or a Bayern Munich. They are not among the true financial superpowers of European football.

"They are just a very well-run club with a clear idea of what they're doing on and