‘Shoddy, shabby & not good enough’ – but Rangers do what they need to

“It’s better to be lucky than good.”

An old adage which sums up Rangers’ run in the qualifiers of the Champions League so far rather neatly.

The good news is they are now just two games – or one tie – away from the league phase, with Club Brugge of Belgium standing in their way.

Making it to the play-off round is arguably an over-achievement in itself, given the tricky draw against Panathinaikos in the last round and a squad being rebuilt under a new head coach.

But boss Russell Martin is under no illusion about the scale of the improvements needed.

You do not have to trawl through advanced statistics to work out Rangers have had their goalkeeper Jack Butland and some terrible profligacy from their opponents to thank in their two ties so far.

“We have a lot to work on, but we’re through,” Martin told BBC Scotland after Rangers overcame Viktoria Plzen on aggregate despite a 2-1 second-leg loss.

It was obvious why Martin was unhappy. In Plzen, Rangers conceded 27 shots, a staggering 21 of them coming from inside their penalty area.

As a result, the Czech side ended with an expected goals rating of 3.31, with Butland making eight saves, with the one to deny Prince Adu truly world class.

Given Rangers’ impressive first-leg performance, a one-off poor display with a comfortable 3-0 aggregate lead could be forgiven given the end result.

But early in the season, it has been a pattern. Rangers have conceded 97 shots in their six games so far, an average of 16 per game.

Had Plzen, Panathinaikos, Motherwell, or even Dundee been more clinical then it could easily be a different story in this nascent campaign.

“Plzen had four 100% chances and took one of them – and they all came from Rangers’ mistakes,” former Rangers midfielder Ian McCall said on Sportsound.

“They were shoddy and shabby, but the name of the game is getting into the next round.

Rangers’ inability to keep the ball and move it up the pitch, instead gifting it back to Plzen, was something Martin picked out too.

“There were some good moments we didn’t make the most of, but I’m disappointed with the number of shots and chances they have and most of it is self-inflicted,” the Rangers head coach added.

“Our level of quality on the ball and decision making wasn’t good enough.”

Wingers Oliver Antman and Djeidi Gassama, so influential in the first-leg victory, were hardly in the game before being substituted in the second half. Mainly because Rangers could not get the ball to them.

Their biggest passing combinations on the night were between Butland and his two centre-backs.

Other than going through, the big positive on the night was Lyall Cameron grabbing his first Rangers goal, capping off a solid individual performance.

Butland’s form is also a big plus given his struggles in the second half of last season and, despite the obvious flaws, Rangers have found a knack of coming up with big goals in Europe regardless of the momentum in games.

However, that is not a sustainable recipe for success in European football’s premier competition.

Club Brugge will undoubtedly be a step up. Last season they reached the last 16 of the Champions League, eventually losing to Aston Villa.

The teams shared a 2-2 draw at Ibrox in pre-season, so there will be a degree of familiarity, as much as a friendly can replicate competitive action.

“If Rangers were playing against a better quality of team, even with the 3-0 lead, this game could have gone to extra-time or they could have lost it,” former Rangers striker Steven Thompson said on Sportsound.

Andy C: It’s grim watching. So many times the Gers gave the ball away under self-inflicted pressure. Souttar and Butland seem to be the only two who know what they’re doing.

Graham: How long is it going to take for the players to adapt to the new “style of play” before the fans lose faith? Because right now I see no improvements at all, if anything the last few games I’ve watched has been the worst watch in years.

Ray: All that matters is they are through that’s it. If they play as badly against Brugge and go through that’s all that matters as well. You need good players to play Martin’s system and the extra money may well help him in that quest.

Brian: Another woefully poor performance from this team – I honestly don’t know what is going on under Martin and I fear that it’s not going to end well and will only set the club back even further. Sloppy defending and wasteful on the counter.