Rangers are making a nasty habit of tying their tongues in knots and an old adage should be heeded – Keith Jackson

The more they talk, the worse it gets.

Whether it’s Michael Beale, John Lundstram, Fashion Sakala or James Tavernier, Rangers are making a nasty habit of saying all the wrong things at all the wrong times. Even worse, together they’re in danger of driving a wedge between themselves and the very core support that they’re trying to placate and keep onside.

As the old adage goes, sometimes it’s better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt. Because the more noise they make, the more they’ve tied their own tongues up in knots over these last couple of weeks. And the angrier and more insulted their own fans have become. So when a banner was unfurled by the militant section at Ibrox on Saturday, it was a clear signal that the time has come for a little less conversation and a little more action. After 55 titles you took your eye off the ball. Time for change.”

The message might have been aimed at those higher up the staircase but, nonetheless, Beale looks like a man who has been badly bruised by some of the flak that’s been flying ever since the final whistle sounded at Hampden last Sunday and Celtic set off on another ticker tape trophy parade. Put simply, the Rangers support is a bear with a sore head right now and it’s growling in the direction of its own club, almost daring any of them to make another misstep.

The mood may have lightened a little yesterday had Ange Postecoglou left some more league points behind in Paisley for a second time this season.

But, despite a sticky first half, the relentlessness of the champions means that there is no such thing as respite for Beale in the battle to prove that he is the right man for the job of knocking the Hoops off their perch. If the