As many Rangers fans are now aware, there was a bit of a scuffle between Borna Barisic and some waiting fans outside Ibrox on Sunday, and from what we understand, there was also an incident with goalkeeper Jack Butland as well.

Add to that Fabio Silva’s well-documented needle with the supporters and there’s just a bit of tension going on right now.

The Borna incident is understood to have been his refusal to sign a shirt, which is his choice, we suppose, but not exactly good for public relations any more than Silva smearing the fans with a ‘shut up’ gesture.

Barisic nearly gets into fight with a supporter pic.twitter.com/CvfQ6EC6FZ

— Glasgow Rangers Nation (@RangersNation08) May 6, 2024

The relationship between Rangers players and the supporters is currently poor, we’ll make no bones about that, and even captain James Tavernier has admitted it’s there, and he claims it isn’t a problem in his case.

The reason it’s there is simple – Rangers, the players and the manager, choked a 2-point lead from a 7-point deficit and Silva’s gesture on Sunday has stoked fires – it’s been the first time a player has directly confronted Rangers supporters and challenged their opinion.

Borna took it one step further by literally fighting with a clutch of fans after the match and while we haven’t seen the Butland incident, we wouldn’t be surprised at all.

It’s just unsavoury at the moment, a toxic vibe, far removed from the highs of Leipzig at Ibrox, when arguably one of the greatest-ever football atmospheres was witnessed in Govan amid that history night.

These days Ibrox is pretty dead, with only the UB keeping any sign of life in there – and the atmosphere is very quick to go negative, hissy and jeer-ridden.

We’re absolutely not criticising other fans, everyone has their right to opinion, but we’re explaining that the issues are there, and the vibe is not a positive one at present.

With the trip to Parkhead, it could make or break the general sentiments in Govan – get that win and the vibe instantly changes, or lose and it worsens.

A lot rides on it, but we are saddened to see the general atmosphere around Rangers as negative as it currently is.

We’re sure a bunch of fans will storm in telling us the atmosphere has never been better and we’re talking nonsense – the ‘Contrary Crew’ we like to call them.

But it’s clear to see it could be better. Especially if our players would stop provoking the fans…