RANGERS CONFIDENTIAL: Why a former Ibrox star believes many fans would NOT want Steven Gerrard back… plus, the little-known record continuing to haunt James Tavernier

Those who pooh-poohed Ally McCoist’s recent suggestion that Steven Gerrard could return to Rangers one day will have had cause to think again after last Sunday’s Scottish Cup horror show put Philippe Clement back in the doghouse.

According to one former Ibrox star, however, the prospect of the Liverpool legend coming back to Govan for a second spell would be as unpopular with a section of the Rangers support as Brendan Rodger’s initial return to Parkhead was with a significant number of the Celtic faithful.

Not simply because the manner of Gerrard’s departure to Aston Villa still rankles with many fans – just as Rodgers’ exit to Leicester did with their Hoops counterparts – but because he’s hardly set the heather on fire as a manager since walking out on the Light Blue legions in November 2011.

Former Rangers defender Danny Wilson, who had two spells at Ibrox and now plays with his hometown team Livingston, says Gerrard’s dismal record at Villa and then Al-Ettifaq in Saudi Arabia wouldn’t exactly make fans fall over themselves to forgive and forget.

‘I think maybe there’s a group [of fans] that would want him back, but I think there is a group as well that, because of the circumstances in which he left, they wouldn’t want him back,’ the 33-year-old centre half told Open Goal.

‘Brendan Rodgers has obviously gone back and won a lot of them over. But there’s always that minority who will hold it against him (leaving for Leicester), and I think Gerrard would be in the same boat if he was to go back.

‘If he’s coming in from being on a good run, there is maybe that more acceptance. But he’s not gone away and done great, so people will probably be thinking; “Let’s go and do something completely different”.’

McCoist had a much different take on the situation, telling talkSPORT BET: ‘It wouldn’t surprise me if Steven Gerrard came back to Ibrox.

‘He’s obviously held in really high regard by the supporters because of the league title he won, and his next job is going to be vitally important for him.

‘Things haven’t gone according to plan for him after he left Rangers. A little bit like Frank Lampard going to Coventry – his next appointment was really important to him as well, so we’ll see what Steven ends up choosing to do with his career.’

This wasn’t the first time Tavernier has paid the penalty in Scottish Cup

James Tavernier’s numbers are hugely impressive, especially for a defender, but there is one in which he has come up painfully short during nearly a decade with the club.

Never mind Tavernier’s 129 goals and 139 assists in 496 games for Rangers, impressive totals that are often cited in response to criticism of his defensive qualities.

Remarkable though his contribution to Rangers’ goal tally has been since he moved to Ibrox in 2015, there is one notable flaw which reared its ugly head in the horror show at Ibrox last Sunday.

Tavernier had the opportunity to prevent the worst Scottish Cup result in Rangers’ history when he stepped up in stoppage time to take a penalty against Queen’s Park.

He struck it well enough, but goalkeeper Calum Ferrie saved, leaving Rangers’ captain with a haunted look as the Championship side held on for a jaw-dropping 1-0 victory.

While 69 of Tavernier’s goals for Rangers have been penalty kicks, his record from the spot is poor when it comes to the Scottish Cup. The Englishman has converted just three of his eight attempts in that competition.

The miss against Queen’s Park can be added to misses against Hibs, Partick Thistle, Stirling Albion and Kilmarnock. His successes were against Dumbarton, Dundee and Stirling.

Dropped earlier in the season, 33-year-old Tavernier has played his way back into Philippe Clement’s team and it could be argued that a shot from 12 yards is no way to measure his value to the club.

But the catastrophic cost of that miss on Sunday has exposed him to the worst of the criticism from supporters, many of whom had already argued that his time was up.

For all that he is closing in on 500 Rangers appearances and a possible testimonial, there is another statistic from which Tavernier cannot escape as he approaches 10 years of service.

In all that time, he has lifted just three major trophies – a league title, a Scottish Cup and a League Cup. He will know that, mitigating circumstances or not, much more is expected from a Rangers captain.

Unlucky Barisic is suffering one cruel blow after another

As bad as Rangers’ season is going under Philippe Clement, it hasn’t been much better for some of those experienced players who were part of his clearout last summer.

While some, such as Connor Goldson, Ben Davies and John Lundstram, have gone on to play regular football elsewhere, others have almost disappeared off the radar.

Kemar Roofe has struggled to find another club, goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin has made just one appearance for Swansea City and poor Borna Barisic is having a wretched time of it.

Barisic went with Lundstram to Trabzonspor but, unlike the English midfielder, failed to hold down a place and was soon being told by his manager, Senol Gunes, to find another club.

After a number of options fell through last month, the Croatian left-back looked to have sorted out his future with a loan move to Leganes, who also signed Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes from Aberdeen.

Barisic had been acquired after a serious injury to the Spanish side’s first-choice left-back, Enric Franquesa, but his debut against Valencia on Sunday could not have gone any worse.

Just 10 minutes into the 2-0 defeat, he twisted his knee and had to be taken off in some distress. Leganes later confirmed that Barisic had suffered an ACL injury and would be out for the rest of the season.

It is an exasperating development for struggling Leganes and another cruel blow for Barisic, who was never far from the treatment table during his six years at Ibrox.

Exploding the myth about Rangers managers and the Scottish Cup sack race

One strange aspect to the fall-out from Rangers’ shock exit to Queen’s Park was a myth which was immediately accepted as fact.

Sat ashen-faced in the media room after the loss, it was put to Philippe Clement that Rangers managers don’t survive such results. This statement has been repeated ad nauseam since.

There are only two Scottish Cup defeats in Rangers’ history which compare with what was witnessed on Sunday.

On January 28, 1967, the Ibrox side lost 1-0 to Berwick Rangers at Shielfield Park courtesy of Sammy Reid’s goal.

The repercussions were severe. Jim Forrest and George McLean never played for the club again and were transferred to Preston and Dundee respectively.

However, Scot Symon, the manager that day, didn’t lose his job. He limped on until November of that year when he was shown the door despite his side being top of the league.

Fast forward 20 years to January 31, 1987 and it was the turn of Hamilton Accies to send shockwaves through Scottish football when Adrian Sprott scored at Ibrox to send Graeme Souness’ lavishly-assembled side spinning out of the tournament.

Seven months after Souness had been appointed player manager and been handed the resources to sign players like Terry Butcher and Chris Woods, the defeat against a side that would win just six league games out of 44 matches was certainly astonishing.

But Souness also kept his job. He would go on to add the league title to the League Cup he’d already won. He would leave for Liverpool in 1991 at a time of his choosing.

There may be anger among Rangers supporters that Clement has survived this disaster. Contrary to a widely held belief, it is not without precedent.

Turks reckon Hagi will follow in his dad’s illustrious footsteps one day 

Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk has revealed the Turkish giants tried to sign Ianis Hagi – and reckons he will play for them one day.

The Rangers midfielder was born in Istanbul when his legendary father Gheorghe played for Galatasaray in 1998, and the 26-year-old has never hidden his admiration for the club.

Buruk was a colleague of Hagi senior before going on to manage the club and holds the record as having won most titles in Turkey – with seven as a player and three as a boss.

Now he’s broken his silence about his interest in Hagi and his admiration for the player, who is out of contract at Ibrox at the end of the season.

‘During a previous transfer window, we were interested in him,’ admitted Boruk. He is a very good player. Unfortunately, he was injured in the past. But now he is okay.

‘I know he’s playing well at Rangers now.

‘I remember him when he was a child here at Galatasaray with his father. He used to be everywhere. He was sitting and watching the training.

‘In the last two years, I have always followed Ianis. Now he is in good shape.

‘He is a fine footballer, with potential. I repeat, we were interested in him during a transfer period, but he plays for another team just now

‘Who knows? Maybe one day he’ll play for Galatasaray.’

Potter’s team are peaking at exactly the right time 

This weekend could be a big one for Rangers’ women who are hoping that, with a little help from their rivals, they can take charge of the title race.

As the season enters a crucial phase, Jo Potter’s side find themselves just two points behind both Glasgow City and Celtic, who meet on Friday night.

Should the division’s first and second-placed teams draw at Petershill Park, Rangers can go top with a victory against Partick Thistle at the same venue on Sunday.

Rangers appear to be coming into form at just the right time. Since the turn of the year, they have rattled off five straight victories, the latest of which was a 10-0 thumping of Aberdeen last Sunday.

In what was their first home game in the league this year, Katie Wilkinson scored a hat-trick, Rio Hardy and Liv McLoughlin got two apiece and there was one each for Kirsty Howat and Laura Berry. Aberdeen’s Megan Sidey scored an own goal.

Potter said her team were a pleasure to watch from start to finish. ‘It’s not only the scoreline, but the performance, too,’ she explained. ‘We have been deserving of that for a while now.’