'Angry' Rangers ace lays down gauntlet to team mates amid 'panic mode' claim

Philippe Clement felt his side’s pre-season loss to Birmingham City last night will serve as a “lesson” heading into the Scottish Premiership season opener against Hearts on August 4.

The Belgian saw his side slump to a drab 2-1 defeat at St. Andrews after a poor first-half performance saw them go in two behind at the break thanks to a James Tavernier own goal and an Alfie May strike. Scott Wright reduced the deficit late in the second period but it was a night to forget for Rangers as they continue to look for their first pre-season victory.

After the game, the Gers head coach confirmed midfielder Todd Cantwell had submitted a transfer request, while long-serving defender Connor Goldson was left out as he approaches his own Ibrox exit. However, it was the players on the pitch that left defender Leon Balogun angry as the Nigerian fumed that his team-mates’ performance “was not good enough”.

"If you come here and you play the way we play in the first half then you have to seriously question yourself,” raged the 36-year-old. "I don't want to get into panic mode or anything but that's just a very honest assessment. There's not much to say. That was not good enough. In the second half, we showed a bit more. But still. Birmingham, yeah, they're a good side, they got relegated - I don't really care. If you play for Rangers you can't present yourself like that, that's plain and simple.

“It's just after the final whistle, so I'm quite mad right now. We're still learning, we still have a lot of young players, we have a few new players in the team. Mistakes will be made. We made a lot today and we just need to make sure, because there's 10 days until the kick-off of the new season, that we eradicate them. Even throughout the season there will be mistakes but we have to minimise them and make sure we don't the type of mistakes that we have done today."

The side were booed off by a section of the visiting fans at half-time in the Midlands and Rangers boss Clement admitted the first 45 minutes were well below the standards he expects of his players, however, he called for calm as he explained the difficulties his team face in terms of selection.

“I was totally not happy with the first half,” said the Rangers head coach. “We missed aggression. It is a very good lesson for several players. It is a pre-season game, of course. We have Danilo who has been seven months out, we can not expect wonders of him at the moment. He missed a little bit of the speed and power and we need to build it back up. If you see how many young players played today, some even for the first time at this level. There’s some young players at our academy playing today. They miss the experience and the power needed at this level but it is the only way to make them better.”

Rangers face Union Berlin in the German capital this Saturday as the club concludes its pre-season schedule.