Rangers dressing room hear Barry Ferguson warning loud and clear as one star vows 'we have to prove him WRONG'

Rangers dressing room hear Barry Ferguson warning loud and clear as one star vows 'we have to prove him WRONG'

Leon Balogun wants to prove his manager wrong even if his scathing assessment was a 'fair point'

The Rangers players after defeat to Motherwell (Image: Getty Images )

Leon Balogun admits Rangers will be relieved to escape their Ibrox turmoil as they head to Turkey this week.

The Rangers defender and his team-mates are still reeling after becoming the first Light Blues line-up to lose three home games in a row since 2012. They face setting a fresh unwanted record when they host Fenerbahce in next week’s Europa League last 16 return, where another defeat would see them become the FIRST EVER Gers side to lose four on the bounce at Ibrox.

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But before that, caretaker boss Barry Ferguson will lead the struggling side to Istanbul for the first-leg opener against Jose Mourinho’s Turks on Thursday. And Balogun believes the showdown at the famously ear-shattering Sukru Saracoglu Stadium will offer some respite from the furious bashing his side have been suffering back in Glasgow following back-to-back home defeats against Queen’s Park, St Mirren and Motherwell.

He said: “I think it's a big opportunity for us on Thursday. It might actually help that we play the first game away after what happened domestically ... and to help get supporters back on our side. But we need to make at least two massive steps forward from Saturday against Motherwell in order to get a result there.

“It probably helps that then we play European again straight after, a week later. So it's a massive chance, a massive opportunity. And we really need to put everything into the game. We have to do it anyway. But now even more.”

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Balogun made his return after a five-week injury lay off at the weekend. But his team were already two down to Michael Wimmer’s superb Steelmen by the time the 36-year-old was flung as Ferguson was forced into a trio of half-time changes.

The changes sparked an upturn as Cyriel Dessers pulled one back - but that wasn’t enough to prevent another angry reaction at the final whistle. “I don't think there's too much to say other than that it's not Rangers' standard and therefore it's not good enough,” confessed the former Nigeria defender after the 2-1 defeat.

“And then the result speaks for itself at halftime. Did I feel we’d done enough to get a result in the second half? Obviously I’m not trying to be rude, but the result speaks for itself.

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“If we would have done enough to get back, we would have at least equalised or won the game. Were there chances? Yes. But was it enough? Clearly not because we lost.

“Mistakes are part of the game because we are only human. You can never forget that. I know in football there's not room for that in the perception overall. But that's just a fact. It's how you respond to it. Ideally, you don't make them, of course, and at a club of this size, there's not much tolerance for it. And I think we all know about this when we sign here.

(Image: SNS Group )

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“And then it comes down to standards. Can we say, ‘Yeah, we're not very confident at the moment because of how the season went?’ Yes, for sure. But you need to roll up your sleeves and then go against it and make sure you get it right. Because we have done that in the past as well.

“I think overall, our standards, we're not holding ourselves accountable enough. Maybe that's one of the reasons as to why we have this inconsistency in performances.”

Ferguson admits Rangers will suffer far worse than Saturday’s upset if they repeat those performances levels against Fenerbahce or Celtic when the interim boss goes up against Brendan Rodgers in two week’s time.

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And Balogun said: “Well, we have to prove him wrong. But he's making a fair point because if you can't beat Motherwell with all due respect to them at home, I think it's fair to say that Celtic and Fenerbahce are a different type of opposition and probably higher quality as well.”

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