Gio has his work cut out as Rangers’ well runs dry

Today’s atrocity at Hampden was the final period in the sentence of the ultimately stale SG era, and the evidence for the lethargy was there in all its glory for new manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst to see.

If ever a group of players looked less up for impressing their new boss, this was it, and it struck yours truly that few to none of these individuals looks up for playing for Rangers any more.

It appears, to us anyway, that the lack of gumption, guts and élan was down to too many hearts not in the shirts any more, and too many players seeking their January exits to the PL and Villa (or other).

With SG gone, we might have expected a gung-ho display showing new man Gio that he’s inheriting a group of players ready to impress him and fight for their Rangers place.

We did not get that.

Instead we got a bunch of empty jerseys, with few gaining passmarks, on a day we still could not exorcise the cup ghost which had plagued us on 6 previous attempts under the ex-manager.

The likes of Tavernier, Barisic, Goldson and Morelos looked like they are all seeking a new club, preferably joining the Scouser south in January, and those hearts really lacked on this showing.

Meanwhile the McGregors and Davis’s just look empty now, players who have given their best but have nothing left. Not a criticism of them, they have been amazing soldiers for us, but they’ve little left in the tank.

The likes of Arfield and Aribo can hold their heads higher, they did show up and tried to make things happen here, but too many just didn’t have that graft in them.

And this SG era is now over, and while we’d be unlikely to expect a clear out, it is time for major work and surgery to be done on this squad.

Gio’s budget in January will be limited, but he will seek Bosmans and maybe one or two key sales to help fund a few new additions.

Because while this squad is, on the face of it, not bad, too many hearts aren’t in those jerseys any more and it’s time for change.

And Gio is that change.