Rangers had me cringing and Gio should have reacted amid unforgivable Liverpool mauling - Barry Ferguson

There was steam coming out of my ears on Wednesday as a bad night became an unforgivable one. So I’m not about to make excuses for a performance and a result which humiliated Rangers fans all over the country.

And I won’t criticise the supporters for reacting so angrily after seeing seven goals flying into Allan McGregor’s net as Liverpool ran amok in the Champions League. I had it drummed into me from a very early age that any defeat is a disaster when you’re lucky enough to be wearing that blue shirt.

So you can imagine how I felt watching that complete capitulation. It was unacceptable. It was painful. And with every goal that went in during that second half, I felt myself cringe. Listen, I know what people in England think about our game. They love to put us down and they’ll be absolutely revelling in the fact that Rangers and Celtic have been papped out of the competition after just four group games each.

They’ll be laughing up their sleeves at Scottish football again and that cracks me up. So, yes, I’m as frustrated and bitterly disappointed as any other Rangers fan - and I understand why some of them want the manager’s head to roll. It’s an obvious knee-jerk reaction.

But, having had time to calm down and reflect, it’s maybe time to add a bit of perspective to the debate about Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s position. Let’s be honest, when the draw was made at the end of August, Rangers found themselves in the group of death. To be lumped in with Liverpool, Napoli and Ajax was probably as tough as it could have got.

And, after four straight defeats with one goal scored and 16 conceded, it’s been a painful lesson learned. The simple truth is, Rangers are not ready to compete at that level as much as it might hurt