Emmanuel Fernandez has conceded that Rangers did not genuinely believe they could win the Scottish Premiership title last season, even as they sat just one point off top spot with five games remaining. However, the defender is confident that new manager Derek McInnes can instil the belief required to go the distance this campaign.
Rangers' Late-Season Collapse
Under former boss Danny Rohl, Rangers staged a remarkable recovery after replacing Russell Martin in October, climbing from near the bottom to within touching distance of leaders Hearts and Celtic. Yet a catastrophic end to the season saw them lose four of their post-split fixtures, leaving them to finish third.
Fernandez reflected on the disappointment, saying: "Obviously it's hard to pinpoint one thing that went wrong. I felt like we may not have gone into it with the right mindset. Or we may have gone into it maybe thinking we didn't have a chance."
The 23-year-old Nigerian international believes the squad must take collective responsibility: "There's moments that we've got to take responsibility. The manager sent us out to do a job and we probably didn't perform to the way we should have performed. Individually, we've all got to look at ourselves and know what we need to do better so this doesn't happen again and bring joy to the team."
Learning from Disappointment
Fernandez sees the collapse as a motivator for the new season. "Disappointment can be a motivator. I also feel like now you know what you're going to come up against more or less. You should have more confidence knowing that you can only do better. And you can only improve on your form. We should have no fear and we should only have hunger to try and succeed. You need to have that belief that we are the best and show that you're the best when you're on the pitch and I feel like that's the only way you're going to succeed."
His comments echo those of teenager Mikey Moore, who ended his loan spell from Tottenham last season after admitting not enough teammates were willing to dig deep for the team. Fernandez backed that assessment: "I remember during that time that was said. It's hard to pinpoint a certain person or a certain group of people but collectively as a team that's where we need to be better. It's good that we have people pointing out players for when they don't do wrong but if we do that collectively as a group, then we're only going to go further and we're only going to become better."
McInnes' Impact
Former Hearts manager Derek McInnes was appointed in the summer to replace Rohl, and Fernandez believes he is already raising standards. "I think it's been good working with him. He's trying to bring togetherness to the team. I feel like we've got a season to look forward to," said the defender from the club's pre-season training camp in Spain.
McInnes has also identified areas for Fernandez to improve. "He's also showed me things that I need to improve on. He told me a few things that I understand about how I can support the team going forward and being better. The stuff he said is stuff that I knew I needed to work on, mainly just box defending. Being able to suss out the danger and deal with the threat."
Fernandez is eager to develop under the new boss: "Obviously during the off-season I wanted to work on it but I didn't really get much time due to international duty. But that's why you have pre-season, so you can improve on those things."
Confidence and Fan Support
The defender acknowledged the role of the Rangers fans in boosting his confidence but stressed he is far from his peak. "I don't think my personality will ever change. I think my personality is me. Obviously I love acknowledgement from the fans. That's the great thing. And it makes you feel a bit better about yourself. But I do feel like there's still more improvement to be made. I'm not the finished product yet. There's still more of the story to go on."
When asked if McInnes can unlock his full potential, Fernandez replied: "Can the gaffer draw that improvement from me? Yeah, 100%. I've seen it already. I've seen the defensive drills we've been doing. And I feel like I could benefit from this."
