Jermain Defoe: Watching Rangers This Season Has Been Hard

Jermain Defoe believes that the need for change at Rangers is clear, admitting it's been difficult to watch his former club this season. 

The Gers, who are 6/1 with football betting sites to win the Scottish Premiership currently trail Celtic by five points and were eliminated from the Champions League qualifiers by Dynamo Kyiv. 

Defoe had anticipated the Ibrox side would push forward following his departure, especially after coming so close to winning the Europa League in 2022. 

However, the former Tottenham and England forward is disheartened to see the club heading in the opposite direction under manager Philippe Clement who was appointed in October 2023.

* Attention football fans, want to win the cost of your season ticket back? Enter our free competition below. A winner chosen every month this season.

In an exclusive interview with Gambling.com he said: "If you speak to any Rangers fan or ex-players, and if we’re being totally honest, it’s been hard watching it.

"We won the league when I had the player-coach role, and then after I left the boys came so close to winning the Europa League. 

"I looked at it and thought they would kick on the next season, if they kept the core of good young players and experience, and possibly add a few more.

"But it’s actually gone the other way, and it has been tough to watch, because I try and watch every game. I go to Glasgow quite a bit, and speak to some of the boys.

"I feel like it's obvious that something needs to change. The players need to try and find their form. The players need to find some sort of consistency. 

“There are games up there that people expect them to win, and you can slip-up if you don’t approach with the right frame of mind, and that’s what happened last season. 

"You look at the points that Rangers dropped last season, and they're games that you would expect them to win convincingly to be honest."

* Win a VIP trip for 2 to the Las Vegas Grand Prix - return flights from London, five nights in the Linq Hotel and Casino PLUS $2,000 spending money! Enter our FREE competition below:

Defoe played 74 games in three seasons with Rangers, scoring 32 goals and helping the club win their 55th league title.

That championship also prevented Celtic from winning an unprecedented 10^th consecutive Scottish Premiership crown.

And the striker revealed his fond memories of working on his coaching badges whilst at the club, and the impact that playing in Glasgow had on him.

He said: "If I had the opportunity to come back to Rangers at some stage, it would be an easy decision because it is such an amazing club, and I do feel like I’ve got a special relationship with the fans.

"I spent a lot of time with Steven Gerrard and Michael Beale talking about coaching, especially in lockdown when we had that period without playing.

"I started my coaching badges with Rangers, and then completed my A-license while I was at Tottenham.

"I actually had a conversation with Rangers last year, and told them that I would love to come back in some sort of role at the football club."

Defoe is just one of the big names appearing at the Scottish Masters, taking place at Aberdeen’s P&J Live on November 14. 

The former England, Tottenham, and West Ham striker will join Rangers legends such as Barry Ferguson, Kris Boyd, and Lee McCulloch in a four-team tournament.

Defoe’s former club Rangers will also be up against arch rivals Celtic, Aberdeen and Dundee United, who are sponsored by Gambling.com. Tickets are available here. 

And he is under no illusions about what it means to pull on the light blue shirt once more when he appears at the Scottish Masters on November 14 in Aberdeen.

"We’ve got a strong team. You know what it’s like, that competitive nature that you've got will never leave you," he said.

“When you put the Rangers jersey on, it's one of those where you have to win every game you play.

"Whether that's when you're just playing as a player, or you retire and you're playing all these masters or legend games, you’re still wearing the Rangers shirt. So you have to win, and it’s something I'm looking forward to.”