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This is the Rangers truth Goldson needs fans to know as he goes in on board, Gerrard vs Gio and slipping standards
Connor Goldson is relaxing by the side of a pitch watching his son play. He’s got the shorts, shades and flip-flops on. And as he gazes into the Cypriot sun, he allows his mind to wander back to Glasgow.
He’s at Ibrox and Rangers have just won their 55th league title, famously ending Celtic’s bid for 10-in-a-row. Under gaffer Steven Gerrard, anything seemed possible. And Goldson will never forget the manager’s words in a Sky TV interview, as he sat drenched in champagne. “We need to fix the roof while the sun is shining.”
Goldson, or anyone else at that time, wasn’t to know just how important that quote would prove to be. But the defender knew exactly what Gerrard meant. At that moment, Rangers were top dogs in Scotland again. They were the country’s best team by a mile and after a decade of misery, suddenly they had the chance to put their foot on Celtic’s throat. Instead, they helped their Old Firm rivals get back to their feet again by taking their eye off the ball. Goldson felt it. Even in pre-season before the following campaign, he knew something wasn’t right.
And if he knew it, Gerrard would have too. Which is probably the reason why he left for Aston Villa four months later. Now, Rangers are second best again. A chasm has been created between Govan and the other side of the city.
And when Goldson reflects on where his old club is at the moment, he traces it back to Gerrard’s comments. In an exclusive interview with Record Sport , he said: “Winning that title was amazing and that group of players had such a strong bond.
“They had to look after that. But I don’t think Rangers as a club has ever been the same since. I always remember the interview Steven gave after winning it, when he talked about fixing the roof while the sun was shining.
“Did they ever really do that? I don’t think so. That’s a shame because the foundation we had then was the strongest the club has had for a long time. Look at the assets and the squad we had.
“You can’t say it when you’re in and around the club. But when I look back, we knew we weren’t getting stronger. That’s what we felt. We tried our best afterwards but that was the pinnacle for me and that group.
“We’re fortunate we had that year. But we wanted to kick on and win more. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. We felt that was our chance to really progress and to stretch away from Celtic. That was our feeling in the dressing room.”
But Goldson quickly realised the club was standing still. When Gerrard left, they let Celtic eat up their lead in the title race as Ange Postecoglou revitalised the Hoops.
Rangers, under Gio van Bronckhorst, made it all the way to a Europa League Final in Seville, only losing to Eintracht Frankfurt. But deep down, Goldson felt the club regressing – and heading towards where it finds itself now. He said: “I always remember doing an interview after we lost to Hibs in the League Cup semi-final when Steven left.
“I got absolutely hammered for it at the time. But that was me saying that we had come back and weren’t as hungry as we were the year before when we knew everything was on the line.
“I could feel it in the pre-season. The running we’d done the year before ... suddenly people didn’t want to do that anymore. I felt after that semi-final was the right time to say it and maybe it didn’t come across well. But when I was at the club, I felt I was the person who had to say things like that.
“I took the stick for it but do I regret it? No, I don’t. We didn’t look as hungry or as fit as we’d been the year we won the league.
“Celtic lost a lot of key players that summer and – it was fortunate for them – but no-one thought that Ange would do what he did there The whole football club took its eye off the ball when Celtic lost a lot of players and their manager.
“Unfortunately for us, they quickly turned it around. I was frustrated at that time because I could see what was going on. I could see what was happening.
“Even during the season, when we’d dropped points and the title race was still close – I felt I had to say something to get a reaction. It didn’t go down well but if you look at how things have panned out, I think that I was right. When Steven left, standards got lower.”
That’s not to say Goldson didn’t like working under van Bronckhorst. On the contrary, he rates the Dutch coach – who only lasted a year in the job – very highly.
And their run to Seville in the Europa League gave the centre-back some of the best nights of his life. He’s not sure Gerrard could have achieved that feat.
But at the same time, he’s adamant that his title-winning boss WOULDN’T have handed Ange and Celtic their league flag. Goldson said: “There’s two sides to the story after Gio came in.
“If I’m honest, I think we’d have had a much closer league title if Steven had stayed. We’d have either won it or it would have been close. But the flip side is, I don’t think we’d have had that European journey under Steven. What Gio did on that run to Seville? As I get older I’m starting to look at coaching so I understand it a bit more. He was amazing.
“European football suited his style of management. But would we have let a six or seven-point gap go in the league under Steven? I don’t think so.
“He wouldn’t have allowed it. You can never say for definite because you don’t know. But Steven had figured out the league by then. He knew when you went to Kilmarnock, you had to play a bit longer, more direct.
“Gio came in and it was more possession-based with patterns of play. That worked amazingly well in Europe. But in the league, it didn’t.”
