'Drivel' - Ewan Murray slams Tavernier over 'Demonstrably False' Rangers claims

James Tavernier was ridiculed for his latest press conference comments on the mess at Rangers, by Ewan Murray.

The Guardian journalist reacted via X on 1 November after the Ibrox captain spoke to the media ahead of the League Cup semi-final against Motherwell on Sunday (3 November), branding it “drivel”.

Tavernier talked up the standards demanded as a Light Blues player after the midweek loss at Pittodrie left the club nine points adrift of Aberdeen and Celtic in third, and Philippe Clement facing major sack pressure, saying he is doing everything in his power to win.

Murray dismissed the comments as nonsense, saying: “Three major trophies in 13 years. Nobody at Rangers does themselves any favours with this drivel.

He then suggested the very fact Tavernier still leads the team shows they aren’t trying to win: “What he says is demonstrably false though. Exhibit A: he remains the captain. There is no necessity to win whatsoever.”

Rangers captain mocked to still hold Ibrox role

When things are bad at Rangers it is never long until Tavernier is in the firing line, even if historically that has often been unfair.

The stock comments about meeting expectations mean very little when they aren’t backed up in practice, but prior to the past year the defender could usually at least point to having mostly done so himself.

After an expected summer transfer never happened and now his own form has dried up he actually is another symptom of a wider malaise at Ibrox, so trotting out the same platitudes mean less than ever.

But at a time like this it has to be asked what else he can say, when fans may want the catharsis of Tavernier trashing his own, his manager’s and his teammate’s performances but that is never going to happen.

They are slightly better than his manager’s increasingly bemusing claims of progress after every bad result, but they ultimately do little more to improve matters.

Even now it is difficult to single out individuals as the cause of all the problems at Ibrox, when the failings feel so widespread and interlinked.

But just as the manager takes the most flack, it comes with the territory for the captain to face the music as well, and it is probably no coincidence that it was the 32-year-old who was out to take questions at such a difficult time.

Former Gers midfielder Kevin Thomson suggested on Premier Sports earlier this season (23 September) that Tavernier would rather not even be the captain any longer, such is the stress the role brings with it, but he continues to take on the task.

While the right-back’s performances are no longer good enough to shield him from criticism, he also can’t be held responsible for inadequate recruitment, financial mismanagement, and a the club losing figures in key roles faster than they can appoint them.

He has arguably just regressed to the level of many of his underperforming teammates, and potentially having stayed one season too long it is starting to become clear how much more of a mess Rangers would have been in without him at his best in recent years, except he is still there to be held responsible.

It appears the club haven’t been moved to make a decision on removing Clement since the Pittodrie defeat “for now” [Rangers Review, 31 October], but his exit is already deem inevitable by some [Graham Spiers, 30 October].

In other Rangers news, a two-time league winner has jumped out as the obvious choice to replace Clement.

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