It was a frustrating afternoon for Danny Rohl and his men as they were held by John McGlynn’s battling Bairms
16:18, 30 Nov 2025
There’s been a debate raging about whether Rangers could genuinely get themselves back in the title race.
But after this performance and result against Falkirk, the question is – do these players even WANT to fight for honours? Because for 90 minutes, Danny Rohl’s side showed an alarming lack of urgency – or quality – to get back involved at the top end of the table. And that resulted in them being booed off by their own support at full-time. Gers struggled to create any clear-cut opportunities and were powder-puff in front of goal.
Falkirk fully deserved their point in Govan and might even have won it themselves near the end. The dismal draw leaves Rohl’s men fourth in the Premiership, on the same points as Motherwell. They’re seven behind Old Firm rivals Celtic and nine behind leaders Hearts.
It was a missed opportunity for Rangers but a display symptomatic of their season so far. Djeidi Gassama’s second half shot saved by keeper Scott Bain was their best chance to score but it was slim pickings. In fact, John McGlynn’s visitors came close to claiming a late victory when Jack Butland denied Alfie Agyemang.
Here’s five talking points from Ibrox
Rangers’ James Tavernier looks dejected (Image: SNS Group)
Crying out for creativity
Stats emerged this week showing the startling attacking numbers for this Rangers team. This season, when it comes to creating clear-cut chances, they’re the SEVENTH best in the Scottish Premiership. For a club of this size – and with their resources and finance compared to others – that’s shocking but it sums up Gers’ campaign so far. And it manifested itself again here against Falkirk as Rohl’s team toiled all day to carve the Bairns open.
In the final third of the pitch, despite a fortune being spent on players over the summer, Rangers are devoid of any guile or invention. Their wide players are badly off form, their midfield don’t get into the box enough – and the strikers can’t score. For a team who has to win every week, that’s a bad mix but it’s what Rohl is dealing with right now. In the first half here, Barjami’s effort wide was their only decent attempt. And after the break, Gassama forced one save from Bairns keeper Scott Bain.
Seat Snub
Rangers had the chance to close the gap further on league leaders Hearts, as well as staying just five points behind Celtic in the table. As ridiculous as it might have sounded a few weeks ago, they COULD still get themselves in the title race.
But looking around Ibrox at the amount of empty seats in the stands, you wouldn’t have known. And that just shows how poor this current side really is. Because even their own fans don’t believe they’ve got it in them to mount a credible challenge.
Rohl has got the supporters’ backing. But the Ibrox faithful aren’t daft, they know what they’re watching. There’s an apathy towards this group of expensively-assembled players because of the sheer dearth of quality, hunger and desire on show. So much so, some punters aren’t even turning up. That should worry the club’s hierarchy.
Bajrami back
He’s been the forgotten man of Ibrox so far this season under Russell Martin and then Rohl. But after impressing as a sub against Livingston here last week, Albanian playmaker Nedim Bajrami was given an opportunity to stake a claim for a regular spot.
There’s no doubt the 26-year-old has natural ability. And what he lacks in pace, he makes up for with his technique and close control. Unfortunately for Bajrami, he was deployed on the left flank here when he’d much rather operate centrally just off a striker.
He was never going to go past young Keelan Adams with lightning quick speed. But he at least tried to make things happen for Rangers.
Rangers manager Danny Rohl and Nedim Bajrami
In the first half, one piercing drive forward put Falkirk’s defence on the back foot and Dylan Tait picked up a yellow card for tripping him. Then a brilliant piece of skill got him inside the box and his curling shot crept just wide.
Bajrami has been a peripheral figure at Ibrox this term. But with others in the squad toiling for form, he might prove to be a useful option for Rohl in the next few weeks.
The A scream
A whole host of these Rangers players anger supporters on a weekly basis but none more so than Oliver Antman, Thelo Aasgaard and Max Aarons. All three of them got a start and did very little to endear themselves to the home crowd.
Antman and Aasgaard cost the crux of £7.5 million between them in the summer but have done nothing to justify their price tags. The Finnish winger is devoid of confidence and looks like a bag of nerves when he gets the ball and has to take a man on. After a dream debut in Europe for the club, his form has fallen off a cliff.
Aasgaard appears to want to play the game at his own pace and lacks any sort of urgency in his play. Again here, despite playing in the number 10 position, he failed to create anything of note or cause Falkirk a problem.
Aarons was deployed at left-back, which isn’t his favoured position, and is still far too negative with his passing. It was no surprise to see all three of them subbed by Rohl before the 70 minute mark.
Bold Bairns
You have to hand it to Falkirk and gaffer McGlynn. Everyone knows this Rangers side aren’t in great shape and vulnerable at Ibrox. But it still takes guts for a newly-promoted side to go to Govan and have a go, which they did here, especially when no Falkirk team has won here in the league since 1925.
They weren’t content just to sit in a low block and defend for their lives. They tried to play out from the back whenever it was on and – at times – showed more composure in possession than the home team.
Calvin Miller, playing just off the front, was a threat for them early on and when Agyemang came off the bench, he gave Rangers’ defence something different to worry about. The sub probably had their best effort which was saved by Butland.
McGlynn is working wonders at the Bairns and to pick up two draws against Rangers in their first season back in the top flight is excellent – irrespective of the Ibrox club’s current woes.
