RED, WHITE AND BLUR

Despite not getting a lot wrong Clement sees Gers slip up on road yet again to highlight shortcomings

- KEITH JACKSON

OFTEN there can be a surprisingly thin line between delight and despair.

And right now it seems Rangers are determined to push the boundaries of both as they head into the second half of the season throwing points behind almost every time they hit the road.

Of course, they experienced the fine margins for themselves during last month's Premier Sports Cup Final when they came within a penalty kick of lifting the first trophy of the season only to leave the national stadium empty handed and emotionally crushed.

What's gone on over the course of the intervening weeks, however, hasn't just narrowed that line. It's rendered it completely blurred to such an extent that the club's supporters can't know with any certainty whether they're coming or going now that 2025 is up and running, They made their way back across the M8 yesterday afternoon with that familiar feeling in the pit of their stomach having seen their side fail to win another match away from home.

A 3-3 draw with Hibs means they have now registered only three wins from 10 games on their travels around the top flight this season, which does not just represent a truly woeful record but also carries with it a paltry points return of 12 from 30.

And this latest slip-up comes at a time when these same fans are still smarting over the five points dropped by the sports science department during backto-back post Christmas away days at St Mirren and Motherwell.

They've been around the block often enough over these last 12 or 13 years to recognise the point in any campaign when the wheels have officially come off another title race.

They know that's precisely what happened when manager Philippe Clement gave into the hair brained demands made of him by the nutty professors in the medical lab at Auchenhowie.