Rangers fans have all their fingers and toes crossed, hoping Derek McInnes can finally lead them back to Scottish Premiership glory.

When Steven Gerrard ended their long title drought and won the Premiership unbeaten in 2021, simultaneously crushing Celtic’s dreams of ten-in-a-row, it was widely expected to signal the dawn of another era of Rangers dominance. However, in truth, the Light Blues have faltered once again, with subsequent managerial appointments such as Russell Martin letting the team down on the pitch.

Marco Negri believes Ibrox is not as intimidating as it used to be

Speaking on the changing psychological environment surrounding his former club, Negri expressed his sadness over the growing anxiety inside the stadium. He told Football Presse:

Recently, the connection and affection of those wonderful supporters have been missing a little. When I was at Ibrox, there were more groans and more doubts than the kind of support I remember from my own time.

The Italian striker warned that this lack of home authority has given visiting teams dangerous encouragement when arriving in Govan:

Rangers as a team have always intimidated opponents, especially when they arrived at Ibrox. Instead, now the teams coming to Ibrox have the impression and think they can take points away and put the team in difficulty. That is definitely a psychological aspect that needs to be reversed.

Yet, Negri’s claims feel harsh and out of step with recent reality. While Rangers endured a rocky start to the campaign – losing 2-1 against Hibernian in their opening home league game and drawing against Jagiellonia Bialystok to bow out of the UEFA Europa League qualifiers on aggregate – they have since silenced critics by winning each of their seven matches at Ibrox, scoring 18 goals while conceding just twice.

Why Negri is one of the biggest ‘one-season wonders’ at Rangers

Negri’s perspective comes from a man who holds one of the most peculiar and remarkable places in the Ibrox history books.

Signed by Walter Smith from Perugia for £3.5million in the summer of 1997, the Italian striker enjoyed an astonishing start to life in Scotland. Negri exploded onto the scene by scoring a staggering 23 goals in his first 10 league games, including an iconic five-goal salvo in a 5-1 demolition of Dundee United at Ibrox, as well as netting at Celtic Park.

Known for his strikingly low-key celebrations – often opting for a simple handshake rather than exuberant joy – Negri finished his maiden campaign as the league’s top scorer with 32 goals.

Most of his goals came in the first half of the season, with Negri hitting the 30-goal mark as early as December. However, his scorching momentum came to a sudden, bizarre halt when he suffered a serious retina injury during an off-pitch squash game with teammate Sergio Porrini.

Plagued by further fitness issues upon his return, Negri managed just two more goals for the club, as Celtic ultimately thwarted Rangers‘ bid for a tenth consecutive title.

Having made only 43 appearances and scored 36 in all competitions for Rangers across four years before returning to Bologna in 2001, Negri remains the ultimate ‘one-season wonder’ – and his warning about restoring Ibrox’s lost intimidation factor carries significant weight today.