Rangers in 2020 - the year in review

It has been a tumultuous 12 months for Rangers. Here, Scotsman Sport looks back at how 2020 unfolded for the Ibrox club.

Ianis Hagi celebrates his winning goal in the first leg of Rangers' Europa League last 32 victory over Braga in February. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

January

After a winter break training camp in Dubai, Rangers returned to domestic action with a low-key 2-0 win over Stranraer in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup at Ibrox.

In retrospect, the sluggish nature of their display against the League 1 strugglers was a portent of the slump in form which would see their quest for silverware subside so tamely.

Connor Goldson, celebrating after the first of his double in Rangers' 2-0 win at Celtic Park in October, has been a cornerstone of the Ibrox club's resurgence in the second half of 2020. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)

After an equally laborious 1-0 win at home to St Mirren in the Premiership, three points were dropped in a 2-1 defeat against Hearts at Tynecastle to hand the initiative in the title race firmly back to Celtic.

February

A dismal month for Gerrard and his team which saw their hopes of Premiership glory and Scottish Cup success both shattered.

Seven points were dropped in five league games with a 2-1 defeat at Kilmarnock mortally wounding their title challenge.

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There was succour for the Rangers support in the shape of a fine 4-2 aggregate victory over Braga in the last 32 of the Europa League. But they then turned in one of their worst performances of the campaign to lose 1-0 to Hearts at Tynecastle in the quarter-final of the Scottish Cup.

March

There was no respite for Gerrard as March began with a 1-0 defeat at home to Hamilton Accies in the Premiership, leaving them 13 points adrift of Celtic at the top of the table, albeit with a game in hand.

A 1-0 win at Ross County did little to soothe the growing sense of discontent among the Rangers supporters over their team’s post-Christmas collapse.

On March 12, in what proved to be the last match played in Scotland before football was suspended because of the coronavirus crisis, Rangers were beaten 3-1 by Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of their Europa League last 16 tie at Ibrox.

April

While there was no action on the pitch, Rangers were at the forefront of making headlines off it amid the rancour and division sparked by the Scottish Professional Football League’s handling of how to end the 2019-20 season.

The Ibrox club sought the suspension of SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster and chairman Murdoch MacLennan for their part in the contentious voting process which called for the Premiership to be curtailed in line with the three lower divisions.

May

Rangers presented a dossier of evidence to the other 41 SPFL member clubs ahead of an extraordinary general meeting they called in conjunction with Hearts and Stranraer to seek an independent investigation into the governing body’s conduct. It failed to attract sufficient support, being backed by 13 clubs and opposed by 27 while two abstained.

Celtic were declared Scottish champions for a ninth consecutive season on a points-per-game basis, having been 13 points clear of Rangers who had nine games left to play, including two Old Firm matches.

Gerrard began reshaping his squad for the 2020-21 campaign with a host of players, including Andy Halliday, Jason Holt, Wes Foderingham and Jon Flanagan, handed free transfers. Romanian playmaker Ianis Hagi was signed on a permanent deal from Genk, having been on loan from the Belgian club since January.

June

With restrictions eased after lockdown, Rangers returned to training on June 15. Goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin and defender Calvin Bassey joined Gerrard’s squad after signing from Sunderland and Leicester City respectively.

July

Nigerian international defender Leon Balogun joined on a free transfer from Wigan Athletic as Rangers began their preparations for the new season with a series of impressive displays in friendly matches.

They travelled to France to compete in the Veolia Cup in Lyon, which also featured Celtic, and claimed the trophy with victories over both Nice and the host club.

August

On the first day of the month, Rangers got their Premiership campaign off to a perfect start with a 1-0 win over Aberdeen at Pittodrie.

It was the catalyst for an impressive sequence of results which established them as the early pace setters in the title race. The only blemish in August was a 0-0 draw away to Livingston.

Rangers made further investment in their squad with significant outlay for the recruitment of English forward Kemar Roofe from Anderlecht and Swiss international striker Cedric Itten from St Gallen.

September

In another month of positive momentum for Gerrard and his players, they extended their unbeaten run in the Premiership to nine games with the only points dropped coming in a 2-2 draw against Hibs at Easter Road.

Their Europa League campaign began with a facile 5-0 win against Lincoln Red Imps in Gibraltar, followed by an impressive 4-0 victory away to Dutch side Willem II.

October

The month kicked off with a fine 2-1 win over Galatasaray at Ibrox in the Europa League play-off round at Ibrox, taking Rangers into the group stage for a third consecutive season.

South African midfielder Bongani Zungu joined on loan from Amiens on the final day of the extended transfer window and their title challenge gathered further strength with three more victories, including a 2-0 win at Celtic Park.

That form was complemented by Europa League victories against Standard Liege and Lech Poznan.

November

It was more of the same for Rangers with three more Premiership victories to extend their lead over Celtic.

They also remained unbeaten in their Europa League group with back-to-back draws against top seeds Benfica.

December

Rangers claimed top spot in Europa League Group D with wins over Standard Liege and Lech Poznan, ensuring they were seeded in the round of 32 draw which paired them with Royal Antwerp.

But the month also delivered their first real setback of the season when they suffered a shock 3-2 defeat at St Mirren in the Betfred Cup quarter-final.

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