Rangers face intolerable backlash crisis as Gio runs out of luck and goodwill – Keith Jackson

It's difficult to know which of them is facing the bigger crisis.

The absolute car crash of a woman behind the door of No.10 Downing Street or the men in charge of taking care of the Big Hoose on Edmiston Drive. Because right now Rangers have a colossal job on their hands as they attempt to navigate a safe path out of increasingly choppy waters.

Yes, the three points Giovanni van Bronckhorst ’s side secured at Fir Park will have at least alleviated some of the pressure which has been building around the manager in the wake of that 7-1 Champions League beasting from Liverpool on Wednesday night. It may have been a rather unconvincing 2-1 victory but if ever there was an any-port-in-a-storm moment for the Dutchman then it was surely at lunchtime in Lanarkshire yesterday. Anything less than a victory would have left Van Bronckhorst facing an intolerable backlash from a support which is running dangerously low on levels of tolerance.

And it was almost completely exhausted by half time when Rangers headed up the tunnel having failed to land a serious blow on their opponents. So, having been seemingly stared down by such a nightmarish scenario, Van Bronckhorst will have been greatly relieved that his players were at least willing and able to dig out a second half performance on his behalf.

Malik Tillman’s solo run and John Lundstram’s shoulder were enough to get the job done and buy the boss a bit of badly needed breathing space. For the time being at least. And yet it does feel now as if van Bronckhorst is seriously up against it and, worse still, running out of luck as well as goodwill.

With Rangers now in danger of recording the worst ever set of group stage numbers in Champions League history, the embarrassment factor