IN fairness to James Tavernier, he was only saying what many have thought for quite some time now.

The admission from the Rangers captain was still startling, though. And he should certainly have seen the fall-out coming his way.

Had Steven Gerrard's side seen off Hamilton - as they were expected to do and should have done - then Tavernier's programme notes would, as usual, largely have passed without comment.

In the aftermath of a 1-0 defeat that leaves Rangers 13 points adrift of Celtic in the title race, they were used as another stick to beat the misfiring Ibrox squad with.

Some of the criticism has been over the top and some vitriolic. What Tavernier's choice of car has to do with his ability to defend or suitability to lead is hard to tell but that has been a theme of the vilification of the man that wears the armband.

The Herald:

There is no need for the personal attacks on Tavernier but his place in the team is rightly being questioned.

And the comments ahead of the Accies clash offered an alarming insight into the mentality of Gerrard's squad.

“Whenever anybody puts a bit of pressure on us in Scotland or gets in our face it seems to affect us too much,” Tavernier wrote. “At the start of the season teams dropped off us and we were scoring four or five goals, but now they smell blood straight away and put us under pressure. We are not good enough at the minute to react to that.”

Fans have long suspected that Rangers don't have the required mentality to be successful at Ibrox and Tavernier basically reaffirmed that theory as he addressed the Scottish Cup defeat to Hearts last weekend.

Tavernier held his hands up for his part in that particular disastrous result and the 28-year-old, to his credit, has fronted up in public when required throughout some troubling times at Ibrox.

That has surely left some scar tissue for Tavernier, though. Now that the going is tough once again, supporters have been quick to question his captaincy credentials.

The Herald:

Gerrard backed his man when Tavernier found himself under pressure earlier in the campaign and he would recover from high-profile mistakes against Young Boys and Hearts to help Rangers finish the year strongly.

But his admission that Rangers are incapable of handling the heat when teams approach them in an up-front and physical way is at the heart of the problems that Gerrard's side have faced throughout the second half of the domestic campaign.

When there is no pressure and expectation on them, like in the Europa League clash with Braga, Rangers are unburdened and can produce performances and earn results way above their usual levels.

That isn't the case here, though. This is a side that doesn't react in adversity, that cannot win when it just has to.

Rangers, as a squad, don't have enough winners and the frustration has been clear on Gerrard's face in recent times.

For many players at Ibrox, there is no way back in the eyes of the fans that feel let down and Rangers face another significant overhaul, no matter who is in charge.

The mentality must change as well. Tavernier has already said as much.