Five Rangers squad players who deserve a chance against Morton
With qualification to the play off round of Champions League qualifying secured, and after a mixed start to the Scottish Premiership, Rangers turn their attention to cup competition this weekend as Greenock Morton make the trip to Ibrox in the second round of the Scottish League Cup.
Having finished fifth in the Scottish Championship last season, the away side come to Govan with slim chances of causing any real upset.
With two massive European ties on the horizon against PSV for Rangers, plus the first Old Firm of the season in a fortnight, the game presents the perfect opportunity for Michael Beale to rotate his starting eleven.
The addition of nine new signings in the summer has meant there are a few players yet to taste a starting berth so far this season, whilst there are others looking to get their Rangers careers back going again after injury.
Here are five of whom in particular I believe deserve minutes at the weekend in some shape of form.
Dujon Sterling
The poor start to the season of James Tavernier has put the right back spot into focus, especially with the club recruiting Dujon Sterling in the summer on a free from Chelsea.
The Englishman’s pre-season stalled as a result of an injury he picked up before the tour of Germany, but he has looked solid in his two cameo appearances against Livingston and Servette.
Capable of playing in a three man defence as well, this game gives him the perfect chance to impress, as well as give the captain the rest it looks like he’s needing right now.
Ianis Hagi
With the midfield area more competitive than it has been for quite some time at Rangers, Ianis Hagi has found minutes limited so far.
But he had a good pre-season playing in a deeper midfield role than we are used to seeing him in, so with Nico Raskin, Jose Cifuentes and Todd Cantwell all putting in a hard shift in Switzerland, this match is ideal for Hagi to come in and have the time and space to dictate a match that he still needs as he builds his way back to form.
Rabbi Matondo
We profiled on the site yesterday how Matondo’s sparkling Livingston cameo could either be the start of a redemption arc or a one-off anamoly.
The match against Morton is the ideal stage for the winger to give more of an indication which it will be, as playing against a side who will likely sit deep and defend their box will give him plenty of space to make those driving runs that spooked Livingston last week.
A make-or-break moment in his Ibrox career.
Tom Lawrence
Fans were delighted at the sight of Tom Lawrence making his long awaited return from injury as a late sub in the pre-season friendly with Hamburg.
But sightings of the Welshman have been sparse since then as Michael Beale has chosen not to rush Lawrence back at a great pace.
If Rangers are winning comfortably after the hour mark on Saturday, it would be good to get a further prolonged spell into the legs of Lawrence to accelerate his return to the first team, as his creative instincts could add an extra dimension to the team.
Kemar Roofe
Perhaps the forgotten striker amongst the revamped forward line, but Kemar Roofe is still kicking about the club.
The quality of Roofe is undeniable on his day, but it’s more his ability to stay fit for a run for a period of games that hurts him.
This match would be good to pair him up with a player like Danilo to see who he feeds off of him, or even as the lone striker to test how he’d work in that rotation formation with width in Matondo and Sima.