There were more boos at Ibrox as Rangers dropped even more points at home to Dundee United
17:20, 18 Oct 2025Updated 18:54, 18 Oct 2025
The players react after Rangers’ draw with Dundee United(Image: Getty Images)
There’s roughly 6000 miles between Shanghai and Glasgow.
And if Kevin Muscat stayed up late in his Chinese pad to watch what he’s soon to inherit at Ibrox, he’ll have seen just how far this Rangers side are away from where they want to be too.
Youth coach Steven Smith took caretaker charge here for the 2-2 draw with Dundee United – and schoolboy defending again cost Rangers dear as their soft centre was exposed when the pressure was applied.
Thelo Aasgaard’s first goal for the club was cancelled out by two United wonderstrikes from Kristijan Trapanovski and Craig Sibbald before James Tavernier rescued a late point.
Rangers are now miles off the pace in the Premiership with just one win from eight leagues games and none at Ibrox.
And if Patrick Stewart and Kevin Thelwell thought binning Russell Martin would ease the pressure on themselves then they were made to think again by punters who unfurled a banner telling them to pack their bags for the entirety of the second half.
It all started so well too as they went ahead in the 25th minute through Aasgaard.
Djeidi Gassama’s brilliant flick inside his own half released the big Norwegian who drove all the way into the United box beyond Luca Stephenson before cutting back onto his right foot to beat Bert Esselink and bending a wonderful effort high past Yevheni Kucherenko.
Rangers dominated the opening period. But their slender lead meant nerves kicked in as the second period ticked on and their grip on the game loosened.
United sensed their chance. And incredibly, within seconds of climbing off the bench, Trapanovski levelled with a thunderous 20 yarder into Jack Butland’s bottom corner after latching onto Zac Sapsford’s pass.
It got even better for the visitors on 75 minutes when they stormed into the lead. Butland looked to have averted the danger with a huge one-on-one save to deny Sapsford but Rangers failed to clear and Sibbald sent a wonderful 25 yard effort sailing into the top corner.
Rangers’ Jack Butland is beaten by a long-range strike
Ibrox was stunned. It looked like another three points were going down the drain.
But then up stepped that Tavernier to slam home an 87th minute leveller after stepping onto sub Mikey Moore’s lay off 14 yards out.
Even then it took another huge save from Butland to deny Trapanovski and secure the draw.
Here are our five talking points.
Terror-ised
The ultimate game of two halves. Rangers registered 24 shots on the United goal in the first 45 minutes – nothing told the story of a side with a new injection of attacking intent better than that. What came after that is a thing of utter mystery.
The opening 45 was exactly what the Ibrox faithful expect of their side was they pinned United back and went for the throat. Rangers were shifting the ball faster – and with a purpose. Forget the painful passing around inside their own half, this was about getting into the United third and playing there. It took four minutes for United to get a touch in Rangers half. There was an urgency about the light blues from the off that was missing in previous weeks
Somehow the Ibrox side completely lost control of the second period as they slipped into old habits. Passes became laboured and nervous. United sensed their chance. And they took both of them. With aplomb. As is so often the case, it was skipper James Tavernier who stepped up to save a point. His goals have helped win five of Gers’ nine points so far.
No case for defence
Rangers soft centre has been exposed time after time this season. And again here, when they needed players to stand up and be counted, they were posted missing. True they should have been further ahead by half time. But the bravery on the ball disappeared, their shape defensively disappeared and ultimately the points disappeared aswell.
Both United’s goals were well struck from distance – but the build up sliced through the light blues backline all too easily. Kevin Muscat, should he be confirmed, has a huge task adding some steel to Rangers’ soft centre.
United they stand
The Terrors hadn’t won at Ibrox since 2014 when Smith actually scored for Rangers in a 3-1 Scottish Cup victory for the Tangerines. But they came within a few minutes of ending that wait with a second half display of bravery and intent.
Goodwin had started with three forwards but it never looked like it as they were forced back into two banks of four and five. But when the Tannadice boss threw on Trapanovski and Camara after 66 minutes the game changed. United had sensed Gers’ nerves and went for their throats. Craig Sibbald, Will Ferry, Luca Stephenson and Zac Sappsford impressed. But Goodwin hardly had a failure across the board.
A-plus for Aasgaard
It’s fair to say Thelo Aasgaard has been a big money summer arrival that has only delivered an even bigger disappointment.
But – on a plus note for Rangers here – the £3.5m midfielder finally produced a performance worthy of the fee at the head of the middle three. He typified a Rangers first half show where it looked like the shackles had been removed.
Aasgaard constantly found pockets of space around the United box and – including his wonderful opener – fired in five efforts on goal in the first half alone. This is a player who netted 15 times last season for Wigan and Luton yet had barely registered a shot never mind a goal for Rangers. He never deserved to be on the losing side.
Message received
Having got their wish with Martin binned the Ibrox faithful took aim at the players with a 10th minute banner declaring: ‘No More Buses to Hide On. No More Managers to Hide Behind – Face Your Failures Like Men’.
And if the hierarchy who made such a mess of the Martin appointment thought axing the besieged boss would get them back in the good books then they were wrong as another half-time banner was unfurled in the Sandy Jardine Stand – staring them straight in the face – reading: ’Stewart and Thelwell Pack Your Bags and Go Before We Pack Them For You’.
A banner at Ibrox during Rangers vs Dundee United
With the wait for Martin’s successor dragging on and Rangers slipping further off the pace, those two positions are increasingly in the spotlight.