Former Rangers midfielder Barry Ferguson is claiming that if Steven Gerrard’s men can find their away form and stick in some good result away from home, a title race could be very much on. The Gers are currently sitting on the sixth spot, five points behind league leaders Hearts. They made a good dent into the points gap recently as they managed to take home all three points and inflict a first defeat of the season to Hearts.
Ferguson recently said, ”Rangers return with a game at Hamilton Accies next weekend – and they simply must find a cure for their away day blues. If they do – and this current squad has enough about them to find that level of consistency – a genuine title race is on the cards.
“I’ve played in enough Rangers teams to know it’s one thing to play in front of the 12th man at a capacity Ibrox, roared on by the bears while the opposition sit off, give you space to play and then hang on for dear life in the hope of snatching a point or maybe even hitting on the counter.
”It’s quite another to go to venues such as Fir Park and Tynecastle, tight parks where the opposition are in your faces every bit as much as their fans. The ferocity of endeavour by rival sides on their own grounds appears to have taken many of the current Rangers squad by surprise, but they’ve already proven to be quick learners.”
Ferguson is right in saying that the Gers need to start winning away to be in contention for the league title. The Bears won their last away game in February, and since then it’s been a long wait for the travelling fans to see their side winning. They are going to get an excellent opportunity to finally end their away hoodoo as they take on Hamilton next after the international break at New Douglas Park.
With Celtic also getting back to form, the Gers cannot afford any more slip up in the league, and they have to win these winnable games if they want to achieve something special and stop their Old Firm rivals’ juggernaut. The Gers are playing some good attacking football, and they often press with high intensity. They need to showcase and replicate that even in away ties and the players should try to summon the power of Ibrox from within themselves.
Everyone loves playing at home as the crowd acts as a 12th man but a top team cannot just rely on home games to win league titles, and Gerrard and Co would have to overturn this awful away form soon if they don’t want to see themselves lagging further behind even before Christmas.
