Philippe Clement wants to improve a few things at Rangers and one of those will be the queue for the treatment room.
Work will already have started behind the scenes, however, the line-up for the Ibrox outfit’s last Scottish Premiership fixture of the season has revealed that the work can’t be carried out quickly enough.
Rangers fans will be forgiven for having one eye on the Scottish Cup final but there has been a recurring theme in reaction to the Tynecastle team news.
Rangers academy stars get fan seal of approval
Every successful Rangers team has always had a core of home grown players in the squad and it is a refreshing change to see academy graduates from Auchenhowie starting together.
Against Dundee, Robbie Fraser was outstanding in his 30 minute cameo, providing an attacking threat and looking competent in defence.
Leon King struggled initially but was composed in open play.
He gets a bit of leeway seeing as he hasn’t played centre-half for some time, plus some of his passing put his more experienced defensive partners to shame.
At the other end of the scale is Ross McCausland, who looked like a player reborn after scoring Rangers opener in mid-week.
What he needs to do now is produce this sort of performance from the first whistle and more consistently.
On seeing the three academy graduates start together, Rangers fans agreed that it was a refreshing change with one player in particular catching the eye:
There were a few fans who saw Robbie Fraser’s inclusion from another angle:
Not only are fans more likely to be more patient with players who come through the academy, they will be warmly received when they do well.
Academy talents have chance to stake claim for next season
They don’t have to be on the same level as players like Barry Ferguson, however, if they can provide cover and not get bogged down by the weight of the jersey then they can save the club a fortune.
A more intangible quality is that they bring heart to the side.
An affiliation with the support which means that a lack of passion or desire can never be a complaint labelled at them.
Regardless of talent, fans will always appreciate players who run themselves into the ground and that’s exactly what this trio brings.
