Rangers star takes blame for 'completely unnecessary' situation
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Vaclav Cerny may have had a dip in form but he is back to showing why Rangers brought him to Scottish football.
The Czech winger had an immediate impact after moving to Ibrox on loan from Wolfsburg, scoring a beautifully taken goal on his first start against Motherwell and then an assist in the thumping of Ross County.
He looked a real find for Philippe Clement but then came the aforementioned dip. Missed chances against Malmo and Lyon in the Europa League brought murmurs from the stands and Cerny reacted with a gesture to the fans.
That led to him being forced to shut down all of his social media.
Vaclav Cerny admits fault in Rangers fan incident
Cerny insists the expectations at Rangers appear even bigger than when he was at Dutch giants Ajax earlier in his career.
And he says he understands when fans went the ball played forward and groan when the play on the pitch is perhaps a bit slower than they would like.
He told Czech outlet Blesk: “Rangers are an extremely big club, similar to what I was used to at Ajax, but maybe I would say Rangers are even bigger because the fans and the whole club have huge expectations.
“So when the game isn’t going their way, the fans make their views very clear. But the stadium is special, especially during European games.
“They show typical British behaviour. The stands would like us to play the ball forward, so when we pass it backwards, because maybe we can’t do it any other way, they tell you.
“It’s such a simple mindset, but I don’t mean it in a bad way at all. Every fan wants their team to play forward all the time.”
The 27-year-old went on to address that moment against Lyon in which he reacted to the grumbles from the terraces when he missed a big opportunity.
“This season, there was a run of three games which were not good for me,” he went on. “Up until then, I had been an important player by scoring goals and getting assists.
“But then I missed chances in Malmo, I missed a big opportunity against Lyon at 0-0 and I also made a gesture towards the stands that can’t be taken back. It was completely unnecessary, but the club supported me. I waved my hands towards the fans and that was my fault.
“Of course, on social media, everyone is a genius. They can say anything. It got to the point where I said enough and after a few hundred insults I said I was leaving.
“I deleted my social networks for a while and edited them so that almost no one could even approach me.
“It’s part of football at that level. If it was just me, I don’t have a problem with it – six years ago I might not have even bothered.
“But it affected my family, my wife and my young daughter, which is the limit for me. It was a learning experience. It was wrong of me but it’s behind me.
“The gesture was completely unnecessary, but I’m so impulsive. I got beat up and then had to get the fans on my side again.
“So for me, it was really important that the next weekend I scored two goals and we won 2-0. Everything calmed down again, I went on a good streak.
“That was the best possible reaction. I shut my mouth and played. That’s the best way to do it. After the experience I’ve gained from that, I’m stronger, I react better to everything. I’m more experienced.”
Rangers loanee Cerny on Premiership gap and future
Cerny now has six goals and five assists in 18 games and is arguably Rangers’ most creative outlet, cutting in on that left foot from the right flank.
On current form, Rangers and their fans would surely love to keep him around for longer than his loan.
Discussing hopes for this season and possibly beyond, he added: “Unfortunately, in the past few years we have not matched Celtic and now we are nine points behind them, which the fans don’t take positively. But the season is still long, nothing is lost yet. Plus, we’re in the League Cup Final, which is good.
“I am supposed to return to Wolfsburg after this season, but honestly, I’m only focused on this campaign, Rangers’ success and my own. I want to have the best season of my career in terms of goals and assists. And then we’ll see. Of course I have a plan, but there’s no point talking about it yet.”
