Connor Goldson lifts lid on what went wrong at Rangers after title 55 - 'I could see what was going on'

The Ibrox side claimed a 55th league championship - denying Celtic 10-in-a-row in the process - under Steven Gerrard as the balance of power in Scottish football appeared to shift towards the blue side of Glasgow. However, Gerrard left for Aston Villa a few months later, and Celtic quickly reemerged as the dominant force under Ange Postecoglou and his successor Brendan Rodgers, with Rangers now struggling to keep pace on and off the park.

Goldson was a cornerstone of the league-winning side of three years ago, but left to join Cypriot side Aris Limassol in the summer as part of a major squad rebuild under current boss Philippe Clement. And the 31-year-old centre-back says Rangers only have themselves to blame for what has happened since as he accused club bosses of standing still and failing to build upon the success under Gerrard.

“Winning that title was amazing and that group of players had such a strong bond," Goldson told the Daily Record. “They had to look after that. But I don’t think Rangers as a club has ever been the same since. I always remember the interview Steven gave after winning it, when he talked about fixing the roof while the sun was shining.

“Did they ever really do that? I don’t think so. That’s a shame because the foundation we had then was the strongest the club has had for a long time. Look at the assets and the squad we had. You can’t say it when you’re in and around the club. But when I look back, we knew we weren’t getting stronger. That’s what we felt. We tried our best afterwards but that was the pinnacle for me and that group.

“We’re fortunate we had that year. But we wanted to kick on and win more. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. We felt that was our chance to really progress and to stretch away from Celtic. That was our feeling in the dressing room.”

Goldson also recalled the criticism he received for an interview conducted after a League Cup semi-final defeat to Hibs shortly after Gerrard departed where he accused the squad of lacking hunger. He stands by those comments and insists he has since been proven right.

“I got absolutely hammered for it at the time. But that was me saying that we had come back and weren’t as hungry as we were the year before when we knew everything was on the line," Goldson added.

“I could feel it in the pre-season. The running we’d done the year before ... suddenly people didn’t want to do that anymore. I felt after that semi-final was the right time to say it and maybe it didn’t come across well. But when I was at the club, I felt I was the person who had to say things like that. I took the stick for it but do I regret it? No, I don’t. We didn’t look as hungry or as fit as we’d been the year we won the league.

“Celtic lost a lot of key players that summer and – it was fortunate for them – but no-one thought that Ange would do what he did there The whole football club took its eye off the ball when Celtic lost a lot of players and their manager. Unfortunately for us, they quickly turned it around. I was frustrated at that time because I could see what was going on. I could see what was happening.

“Even during the season, when we’d dropped points and the title race was still close – I felt I had to say something to get a reaction. It didn’t go down well but if you look at how things have panned out, I think that I was right. When Steven left, standards got lower.”