Youssef Chermiti said Rangers’ season has been a failure after their 2-1 loss to Hibs, with the 21-year-old forward speaking as the club slipped to a fourth defeat in a row.
The result ensured Rangers will finish the campaign with a lower points tally than last season, another blow to a side that entered the split with hope but has now unravelled badly in the closing weeks. Chermiti did not soften the verdict. “Yeah, for sure, because this season was a failure for us,” he said.
What made the afternoon stand out even more was the absence of James Tavernier, who pulled out of the matchday squad after a disagreement with Danny Rohl. Tavernier had waved goodbye to the crowd before kick-off at Ibrox, a scene Chermiti described as painful to watch. “Obviously, everyone wanted to see him playing today. It’s his last game at Ibrox, so of course it’s a sad moment,” he said.
Chermiti made clear he was not drawn into the dispute between the captain and the manager. “The situation involving James Tavernier was between him and the manager,” he said, leaving the broader tension at the club to speak for itself. For Rangers, the loss was not just another bad result. It was the latest sign that a season which promised more has collapsed into damage control.
There is still one thread Rangers can pull from the wreckage: what comes next. Chermiti, who said the first few months in Scotland were difficult before he settled in, sounded more settled himself and more certain about where he wants the club to go. “I want to win the title, that’s what I’m thinking about,” he said. “I think everyone gave me more confidence, and even on the pitch I feel more confident.”
That ambition will have to wait until after a summer that now looks likely to be shaped as much by disappointment as by planning. Rangers finish the season with fewer points and more questions than they began with, while Chermiti’s words reflected a mood around the club that has shifted from expectation to blunt assessment.
