Kris Boyd Exclusive Interview with OLBG

What are your initial thoughts after Rangers' defeat against Ajax?

I think Rangers Football Club will be absolutely delighted that the Champions League campaign is over. It's produced a lot of negativity and the players have had a dent to their confidence because that's what happens when you lose games heavily.

Rangers have got three massive games now before the World Cup that they're going to have to take nine points from. The disappointing thing for Rangers will be that the European campaign, albeit the Europa League, carried so much positivity to the football club but it's been the opposite this year.

They had all the plaudits last year and so now they have to deal with people being critical this year - that's part and parcel of being at a big football club if things don't go right.

What have you made of Rangers' season in general?

Rangers have obviously endured a lot of heavy defeats in the Champions League and also that heavy defeat at Celtic Park a few months ago. There will always be negativity when you lose a game of football to Celtic.

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When you look at Rangers domestically, yes they're four points behind Celtic and it was a disappointing result against Livingston, but Rangers have always been able to bounce back from the disappointment of Europe, they've still found a way to win games of football but there's no doubt that performances are going to have to improve if Rangers are going to mount a title challenge.

Is the pressure from the fans towards Giovanni van Bronckhorst justified?

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If you're in charge of a big football club then you're always going to be under pressure to get results and there's no hiding place from the fact that the performances haven't been up to the standard that fans expect - that's where the frustration is coming from.

The next phase of Giovanni van Bronckhorst's Rangers career is crucial because there are no distractions now in terms of Europe. Domestic results are all that matters so Rangers are going to have to start winning games of football and playing in a manner that the fans are happy with. 

Does Giovanni van Bronckhorst deserve another season if Rangers don't win silverware this campaign?

It's a difficult situation to pinpoint right now because it's a strange season anyway with the World Cup coming up but I don't think we can sit here in November and say that four or five months down the line Gio may lose his job because as it stands, Rangers are still in the hunt for the league title, they're in the semi-final of the league cup and the Scottish Cup hasn't even started yet. 

It's imperative that Rangers get nine points from the next three games and then once everyone is back in December is when we'll see the real pressure.

A lot of people forget that, despite it being a bad European campaign for Rangers, Celtic were out of the competition before them. 

Is it a case of Celtic having a better squad than Rangers?

There's no doubt that every result Rangers have picked up, bar the recent win against Aberdeen, has been a grind to get the three points but they've managed to do it. You have to give credit for finding a way to win games of football as well. 

Rangers are lacking that creativity and the level of goalscoring but when you look at Rangers' attacking players there are probably a good few that will put their hands up and say that they can do a lot better and if they can find that going forward then things should be ok.

Tom Lawrence has been a big miss but one player shouldn't be the be-all and end-all for a big football club and that's where, at this moment in time, Celtic hold the upper hand.

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What's the difference between the successful Rangers squad you played in and this current Rangers set-up?

Back when I played, we had a rigid back four and we played with two up front and I think you can do that in Scotland. 

Now, because of how things have evolved, defensively, teams seem to be more vulnerable because the full-backs are pushing forward. 

When I was playing, we had a younger Allan McGregor in goal and also players like Steven Davis in the middle of the pitch who was the exact same - we had players like Pedro Mendes who played at the highest level and Barry Ferguson who was the best player I played with.  The creativity that our team had is what this current team may be lacking.

To be a part of that team was great because we were winning games of football, winning trophies for the football club and for me it was a fantastic time.

Who in this current Scotland team is most like Barry Ferguson?

For me, Barry is arguably one of the best talents that has ever come out of Scotland. He was Rangers through and through and it meant so much to him to come back and play for Rangers.

It's very difficult for me to look at the Scotland team and pinpoint someone who is like him because there aren't many that have come through Scotland that are like him.

You can go through all the greats of Scottish football and Barry Ferguson will be right up there with them, that's how good he was.

Are you surprised at how poor Nottingham Forest have been this season?

Nottingham Forest were always going to go through a transitional period because of the step up to the Premier League from the Championship. They had a lot of loan players last season and they had a lot of players out of contract so there was always going to be an overhaul of players as such and it can be very difficult for a team that's even been integrated together for a period of time because of the gulf in class from the Championship and Premier League.

I think Steve Cooper is an excellent manager. The job he has done with Nottingham Forest shouldn't be overshadowed and I think he should be given more time to work with the players.

Steve has changed his approach and there have been signs recently that they're harder to break down but they need to find a balance. I wouldn't write Forest off from surviving in the Premier League.

How do you think Michael Carrick will fare as Middlesbrough manager?

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Michael Carrick is an exciting appointment for Middlesbrough. It's also a great opportunity for Michael, Steve Gibson always backs his manager, even when they do go through a sticky spell. 

Michael will have so many players and managers he's worked with that he can call for help which will help Middlesbrough and if they can string two, three, four or even five wins together then you can see yourselves propel up the table.

It's going to be very difficult, but if they can put a run together then you can never say never to a promotion push.

Michael Carrick has to be given time to try and build his team and try to get them back to the Premier League.