Rangers boss Danny Rohl warns Ibrox players they are running out of time to prove themselves

Danny Rohl has warned his misfiring Rangers players that they are running out of chances to prove they still have a long-term future at the club.

Rangers blew the chance to close the gap on league leaders Hearts after labouring to an insipid 0-0 draw at home to Falkirk.

Jeered off the pitch at full-time by the Ibrox crowd after a dreadful display, Rohl’s side remain nine points behind Hearts with a game in hand and seven behind Celtic.

It was a day when the likes of Thelo Aasgaard, Bojan Miovski and Oliver Antman once again failed to spark in the Rangers attack.

Rangers spent in excess of £20million back in the summer to revamp the squad, but Rohl admits that time is running out for certain players to prove they can cut it at Ibrox.

Asked if his patience is starting to wear thin, he replied: ‘I never lose patience, but the opportunities will be fewer, because, yeah, it’s about form. Some players use it [the chance], some players can’t use it.

‘Then you look at which opportunities you have, and then you take the next one. This is football; it’s about competition.

‘In some positions, we have competition; in some positions, there’s less competition, because of the injuries and something like this.

‘Of course, you have to step up in areas, which is what I demand and expect from our players.

‘The group we have at the moment, the players we have, it’s my job and my responsibility to bring the best out of them.

‘You see too many ups and downs, some players feel: “OK, now I’ve made the step”, and the next game they make the step back. We are not consistently at the highest point again and again. This is the job.

‘When I arrived, I said it’s about finding a way to win games. I think today is the first draw [in the league]. We are disappointed with this performance, but for me it’s now week six or seven.

‘I have a clear overview now [of what recruitment is needed in January], a clear picture of what we miss at the moment, and from this point we go forward.

‘When you are on your highest level, you make the right decisions, but the players are thinking too much. This is a part of development.

‘It was not everything wrong but we were not 100 per cent. We have a long December with this group. I see positive examples but I also see players who can’t use opportunities at the moment.

‘I see what we can improve. For excitement and creating more chances, we have to work on it. I know where we are, but it is my job to improve it.’

With Hearts drawing at Motherwell on Saturday and Celtic winning away at Easter Road in the lunchtime kick-off today, this was a huge missed opportunity for Rangers.

Rohl had been looking to claim a fifth straight league win but his team were miles off it against a Falkirk side who deserved a point and solidified their place in the top six.

Admitting it was a wasted chance to make up ground at the top of the table, Rohl continued: ‘Yeah, of course, when you see the result and the position [in the league], what could we do today.

‘Then you think: “Come on, guys, go out and bring the things on the pitch”. I spoke at half-time a little bit about this.

‘I said: “Guys, in some moments I missed the conviction”, even with our pressing, you feel sometimes you think too much, what happens behind me?

‘If you do not press 100 per cent, the 100 per cent intensity, then you give the opponent a little bit more, you feel, you can play it.

‘This is again also a little bit the rollercoaster, the ups and downs in our game, you feel sometimes we drop back in old habits, and this is again what we have to remove.

‘It is disappointing. When you play at home, you want to win these games, you want to try. I think there are reasons why we couldn’t accelerate in some moments our game, in some good areas.

‘But then our decision-making, finding the next free man, finding the right touch. We were not right today.

‘I cannot fault my players for their effort. We want to win and we didn’t win so it feels not good.’