Dessers Believes Premiership Title Challenge ‘Not Impossible’

Cyriel Dessers maintains that Rangers’ pursuit of the title last season demonstrates their capability to overcome an initial slow period and compete for the Premiership championship. During the previous season, the team from Ibrox successfully closed a seven-point gap behind Celtic, briefly ascending to the top of the league standings before their performance declined. Following their 2-1 defeat to Aberdeen on Wednesday night, Philippe Clement’s squad currently trails both Celtic and Aberdeen by nine points after completing 10 fixtures. Striker Dessers stated, “Last year around this time we were in a similar situation, and I think by new year we kind of closed the gap, and then later in the season we came back again, so it’s not impossible, but we will need to up our level in more games.” He continued, “It was extremely difficult and painful. Obviously it was a big game, so you arrive with some expectations, and to walk off the pitch with a loss really hurt. We found control in the second half and at that time I think we had some small chances. We missed a little bit in terms of creating the big chances to finish it off.” Rangers supporters expressed their dissatisfaction at Pittodrie and across social media platforms, contributing to increased pressure on manager Clement. “Obviously [the fans] travelled all the way there to support us again so I can understand them,” Dessers commented. “They want to see us win, they want to see us compete, they want to see us on the top of the table. We’re not there yet, and hopefully we can start fighting back now and give them something to be more happy about. Obviously it’s difficult to see their reactions, and that hurts. But we know they’re hurting as well.” Rangers are scheduled to play Motherwell at Hampden on Sunday in the League Cup semi-final. Dessers stated, “It was already huge. A chance to go to a final, hopefully our third cup final in a row, that would be massive, but with the result against Aberdeen, obviously it will become even bigger to give our fans something back.”