We were in a similar position just over a year ago when Hearts and Septic drew 1-1, only for us to blow it with a goalless draw on Tayside. I seem to recall that Sunday afternoon as the day of reckoning, the game where it became clear to us that there would be no turning point in a miserable season.
For all our problems, we retain some hope that PLG can turn things around reasonably quickly. There were many impressive signs on Thursday night, not least of all the link-up between Barry Ferguson and Jeremy Clement in midfield, that we have something to build on and it would give us all a great boost if we could carry our European form into our domestic business.
After such a good display, all the team selection problems facing Le Gaffer have to be positive. Allan McGregor showed we should have no fears about him continuing between the sticks, Brahim Hemdani looked comfortable with the switch from a midfield holding role to a place in the back line and Nacho Novo was insatiable up front. If its not broke, don't fix it so I don't want to see too many changes on Sunday.
I suppose we should expect Sasa Papac to return and there could be a place for Phil Bardsley at right-back to give Alan Hutton a wee rest. His form his wobbled a bit and I feel Alan is putting himself under pressure by trying too hard to put things right. A break would enable him to recompose himself away from the all-seeing eye of the first team scene and I am sure he will return sooner rather than later as the intelligent, promising player we know him to be.
It won't have escaped the notice of too many Bears that Dundee United have developed something of a habit of making life difficult for Rangers and the appointment of Craig Levein as their new manager will have given them a boost going into this game. Just what we needed! But c'mon Gers, should we really be losing any sleep over a trip to the team on the botton rung of the SPL ladder? Gimme a break!
We can't continue to blow hot and cold. For all the talk of the new manager and the great rush to point the finger of blame in the direction of his team selections and tactics, one simple point has been overlooked. Regardless of who is in charge, Rangers should surely have enough ability in the squad to see off teams like Motherwell, Dunfermline, Kilmarnock, Caley Thistle and Dundee United. The fact that we have struggled against such sides this season says as much about the players as it does about the manager.
So it is time for the players to take some responsibility. They are the ones who have to do it once they cross the white line and, until they are ready to dig deep and produce that little extra something to overcome opponents who tend raise their game against Rangers, we will face more and more frustration.
PLG's knitting first began to unravel when the Arabs came to Ibrox in only the second league game of the season. But even amidst all the disappointment of that 2-2 draw, there were so many positive signs, with the team playing a sharp pass and move game and showing great spirit to battle back from 2-0 down. On that sunny afternoon back in August, the indication were that we have to raw materials to sustain a title challenge and, although we have since fallen some way adrift of the leaders, it is surely not beyond us to recapture some of our early season promise.
Le Gaffer has spoken about the difficulty in recovering from a Thursday night match in time for a Sunday afternoon kick-off but, after our excellent victory over Maccabi Haifa, the players should be itching to get back into action. I want to see them display the same pride and commitment which has served us well in Europe recently and show to all our critics that this Rangers team is capable of bigger and better things.
It might be too late (or too early?) to set our sights on the top spot for this season but Rangers must display the qualities which generated so much pre-season optimism and show to friend and foe alike thast those who write us off do so at their peril. The future starts NOW!
LITTLE BOY BLUE