Rangers had mixed success in the summer transfer window, incredibly, thanks to Philippe Clement, they now have a serious shot at winning the Scottish Premiership title.
What we saw against Hibs at the weekend has become the norm under the Gers boss, not every week is going to be our best performance, however, the squad knows that nothing other than maximum effort will be accepted and that’s exactly what we got.
What he also avoids doing, is putting square pegs in round holes when it comes to his team selection unless absolutely necessary. There has been one recent Rangers addition who was treated differently, but it is no wonder Philippe Clement has already written him off.
Sam Lammers reveals latest Rangers mistake by Michael Beale
Sam Lammers was the first signing of the summer, one that drew a mixed response from fans.
On one hand, this guy was a £7m player not that long ago but, on the other, his recent record in front of goal left more than a lot to be desired.
The plan was that he would rediscover his early PSV Eindhoven form where he drew comparisons with Ruud van Nistelrooy.
There was only one problem, as the player himself has revealed, via The Rangers Review:
“I played more at No.10 at Rangers. I didn’t actually play a single match there as a striker.
“At Rangers, I suddenly ended up on the bench and then I didn’t even get on anymore.
“And then you are suddenly told that you can leave on loan.
“So by then you already know enough.
“We’ve lost only once since I got here.
“Although things were going well for me and the team before I started scoring, as a striker you feel a little bit better when those goals are scored.
“I really can’t say anything definite about my future, because nothing has been decided yet. The goal now is to reach European football with Utrecht, after that I will look further ahead.”
In 11 Eredivisie games, since returning home to play for Utrecht on loan, he has four goals and three assists, the sort of return that, hopefully, could see a team persuaded to offer close to the reported £3m we paid Atalanta for his services.
It’s no coincidence that his good run of form has come from him playing in a position that he is more comfortable with.
Michael Beale signed a variety of players but Clement still inherited a squad that was imbalanced.
You could see, almost from day one, that Beale wasn’t 100% sure what his plan was as we travelled to Rugby Park on day one having watched a variety of combinations and systems in pre-season.
One consistent was Lammers at number 10 which seemed bizarre with Todd Cantwell, Tom Lawrence and Ianis Hagi already in the squad, and yet, he persisted with it.
Now, as a number nine, he is clearly enjoying his football again and, like Dujon Sterling and Ridvan Yilmaz too, it shouldn’t have taken a change of manager to find out that we had been picking the wrong players.
It’s unlikely, having given him a chance at Rangers, that Clement will want to keep Lammers.
Having a player who could bring in a few pounds would help to strengthen somewhere else or pay for Mohamed Diomande or Oscar Cortes.
Two players who have already shown more than Lammers did in his first six months.
Wrong position or not, Clement will want much better in the summer.
