Meghoma urges Rangers to stay together and focus as horror start to season continues

Meghoma says players must stick together and stay focused if Rangers are to overcome system failure that has led to horror start to season. The 19-year-old on loan from Brentford has found himself at the heart of a crisis that has left Ibrox with a string of poor results, including five league matches without a win. They were humiliated 9-1 by Club Brugge in the Champions League play-off, and Thursday’s home defeat to Genk in the Europa League added to the gloom surrounding the club. With the club's new American owners seemingly the only people still championing manager Martin, anger has started to give way to apathy as attendances dwindle.

"Meghoma says it's a mentality thing, you know," he said. "We’re working on it every single day and we’ve just got to focus on the next game and try and prepare as well as we can." "I think as players, when you’re playing under a system, you really need to take to it and focus. You have to try and do your best to play in that way."

For those in attendance on Thursday, the latest setback felt like a dreary rerun. Rangers’ ball movement has lacked purpose; when forwards reach promising positions the decisive pass rarely arrives, and the hosts have often looked laboured in possession. Genk’s winner, Oh Hyeon-gyu, came from a single deep ball that sliced through a congested midfield and exposed a disjointed defence. Not since the 1978-79 start to a season have Rangers endured a campaign quite like this, with four wins from 14 matches in all competitions and back-to-back defeats looming large as October approaches.

The scale of the challenge is clear even to a player who joined on loan to help a squad in flux. Meghoma previously worked with Martin during a spell at Southampton and retains belief in the Ibrox boss, even as criticism has grown louder among supporters and observers. The team’s performances in training sessions have been praised by the on-loan full-back, but the stride from practice to matchday execution has been elusive.

Rangers head to Livingston on Sunday in a fixture that has rarely proved straightforward for a club short of confidence. Livingston, coached by the canny David Martindale, are known for their structured approach and a knack for exploiting opponents who overcomplicate possession. The Rangers setup will face a different test on a surface that Martindale’s side has used to strong effect this season. The match represents another acid test for a squad striving to arrest a troubling run and avert a deeper crisis in a season that has already delivered more questions than answers.

"Every game has its different challenges and poses a different threat," Meghoma said ahead of the trip to West Lothian. "We know we’re coming up against them and we’re ready for it. It doesn’t faze us because we prepare for these types of things and we know what we’re going into on Sunday. We’re always attempting to win the game and that’s what we have to do against Livingston. We need to just win a game of football."