Did Rangers give up today?

While fellow fans have reacted with rage and humiliation over today’s loss to Kilmarnock, we at Ibrox Noise are more sanguine.

We are of course deeply upset at any loss, but in recent articles we have more than preached the difficulty of getting anything from Steve Clarke’s team, and in many ways, without saying it, we feared the visit of Rugby Park’s finest far more than that of Celtic.

It’s almost inexplicable but had Clarke been Killie boss at the start of the season, there is a very real chance his team would be in the mix for the title. We are talking not only about Scotland’s form team, but the hardest to beat, and today we saw just why that is.

So, we were well versed in just how good Killie have gotten under the ex-West Brom manager and we cannot say their performance today surprised us one iota.

They were studiously organised, astonishingly hard working, played good football, canny with how to win free kicks, and took their one huge chance well.

In short, they were everything Rangers weren’t, and they were 100% the better team on the day.

And once again Graeme Murty has been frankly outclassed by his opponent and made to look a very ordinary manager (or worse) – incapable of changing things for the better (aye, Jason Holt and Kenny Miller will solve everything) when they go wrong and adapting for difficult matches.

We had been inexplicably impressed with him up till the Celtic match, but that performance and result changed things.

Two losses in a row at Ibrox is simply intolerable, and only Greg Docherty (in tears at the end), defensively speaking James Tavernier, and hard-working Jason Cummings come out the match with any credibility.

Every other player clearly gave up after 60 or so minutes, even Murphy. Alfredo Morelos’ value has absolutely plummeted following a third borderline open goal shambles.

We will further pore over the dire wreckage of this atrocity in a later piece, but for Rangers players to throw the towel in is an absolute disgrace.

Seven days ago most Rangers fans were looking at the future with hope, growth and even expectation.

In one week we’ve gone from challenging to the title to descending to Pedro levels of farce again.

Lost for words.