By Clive Lindsay

There are some players who just can't handle playing for a club like Rangers Craig Paterson

Time is running out for Alex McLeish's tenure as manager of Rangers with speculation already rife about who his successor will be.

Craig Paterson spent four seasons with Rangers in the 1980s and knows the demands for success at Ibrox.

The BBC Scotland football pundit here assesses what has gone wrong this season for his former club and McLeish.

"Everyone would have thought that Rangers would have gone from strength to strength after snatching the title from Celtic last season.

"And it started so well, with victories over Celtic in the Scottish Premier League and Porto in the Champions League.

"But it has turned into a nightmare season. They aren't losing many games, but they are failing to win games that they should be winning."

Q: Did Alex McLeish make poor signings during the summer?

Craig Paterson: Alex has had less funds than any recent Rangers manager because of the need to reduce debts.

But, if you looked at the start of the season, Dado Prso and Nacho Novo had scored 40 goals between them, while Thomas Buffel just behind them was coming on to a game.

Francis Jeffers was brought in on loan from Charlton and you would have expected someone who has performed in the English Premiership would have been able to score goals in the SPL too.

But he failed to make an impact and then has struggled with an injury while Novo and Buffel have been sidelined as well.

There are some players who just can't handle playing for a club like Rangers, where you are constantly expected to win and there's no let-up.

Some come through and flourish and Julien Rodriguez, for one, is beginning to look the part in defence.

Hopefully, Alex will get the benefit of that rather than his form coming just in time for a new manager to enjoy.

Q: Have his tactics been at fault?

CP: If you look at a number of games they have drawn, they have created 10 chances to every one or two by their opponents.

It is the failure to convert them that has let them down and you can't blame the manager for that.

If you take the Artmedia Bratislava game in the Champions League as an example, Rangers pummelled them and had three guilt-edged chances and two other good ones, which is good going in any Champions League game.

People should remember that he has done a fantastic job Craig Paterson

In Bratislava, they lost two bad goals, the second being through the first individual error that Ronald Waterreus had made since the goalkeeper joined Rangers.

I am sure there are times when Alex might think he could have done something different tactically, but no manager can legislate for that.

In football, when the pressure's on, you can suddenly struggle to do the things that usually come easy and some are maybe trying just too hard.

There's a lack of confidence about Rangers at the moment and, the further you go behind in the league, the pressure becomes ever greater.

Q: Have Celtic, Hearts and Hibernian just done things better?

CP: Injuries and loss of form have prevented Alex finding consistency of selection.

Celtic, Hearts and Hibs have been able to do that week in, week out.

And the problem for Alex this time is that Hearts and Hibs are up there and could even prevent Rangers getting the second Champions League qualifying place should they fail to win the championship.

Vladimir Romanov has given Hearts the funds to bring in some quality players and they have spent the money wisely.

Hibs have benefited because they have a group of young players who have been together for a while now and are mature beyond their years.

Alex is in the position that Gordon Strachan found himself in after Celtic's poor start to the season. Their situations have been reversed.

But Alex has been through this before last season, when Rangers came from behind to take the title from Celtic.

And people should remember that he has done a fantastic job and has won seven trophies in four seasons, which is a better record than Martin O'Neill had at Celtic.

I like the big guy. He takes it on the chin and comes back for more and I hope he can turn things round before it's too late.