Latest Rangers capitulation boiled down to 2 things and it's a disease that has riddled them for years now

The hipsters will no doubt have their own theories on Rangers’ latest away day disaster.

Detailed explanations on why the xG in Paisley wasn’t high enough. Suggestions of system tweaks Philippe Clement should have deployed to prevent the unthinkable happening yet again. But forget tactics or fancy formations. This latest Rangers capitulation against St Mirren on Boxing Day boiled down to just two things, both of which have reared their heads far too often over the last few years.

Attitude and mentality. Safe to say, these players will deny it and say they adopted the same approach to this game as they’d done for the previous seven. But they’re kidding no-one, not least themselves.

After a decent – no more than that – run of form, Clement’s team arrived at the SMISA Stadium thinking they just had to turn up to win. After all, they’d beaten Nice and drawn with Spurs in Europe. Got league wins at St Johnstone, Kilmarnock, Ross County and Dundee. And they performed well in a League Cup Final they ultimately lost to their oldest rivals.

So for a few weeks, they felt like they’d actually done something after an abysmal start to the campaign. But whatever you think of Scottish football, you can’t just saunter into an away ground thinking you’re the bee’s knees and expect to collect the points. Especially when you’re a Rangers team who have achieved next to nothing so far. But that’s what happened on Thursday.

Clement said it himself. The energy and application in the first 45 minutes was unacceptable, verging on arrogant. But we shouldn’t have been surprised. Because it’s a disease that has riddled Rangers for years now. They simply find it impossible to sustain a level of hunger, relentlessness and will to work for any length