With Rangers’ win over Kilmarnock secure, it seemed all that remained was for the last two minutes or so of added time to be concluded but instead Michael Beale made a triple substitution for the final moments on Saturday.
What was that all about?
Alfredo Morelos replaced Fashion Sakala around the 83 minute mark but it was beyond the start of added on time when John Souttar, Ianis Hagi and Scott Arfield replaced Ben Davies, Antonio Colak and Todd Cantwell, respectively.
The trio got to step into the game with Hagi and Souttar getting a couple of touches but that’s about it. No time to make any kind of impact, beyond getting a limited feel for action after a considerable lay-off. The Romanian international has previously featured since his injury but for the other two this was their first taste in quite a while.
For that feeling of involvement and crossing the line, the manager would point to the value in going through the gears for a proper return to match fitness. It is harsh on the players though with the game being all but over with Ibrox 50% full, at best.
Beale was keen to get a bit more time for Souttar but felt he had to wait until the score was beyond doubt, when he stated:
“I’d like to have given John Souttar a little bit more today. You know obviously with our second team playing in the Lowland League can only play under 21 players in that. So it’s not like I can drop him down to get minutes, so I’ve got to try and get him up to speed in training.”
“He’s trained ever so well for a couple of weeks now. The final, I felt was too soon. I wasn’t going to use him in that. But today was an opportunity to maybe give him a little bit more, but the game didn’t allow me to.”
It’s not like game management was required so it remains a strange choice, as much as Todd Cantwell deserved a resounding cheer for his level of performance.
Three subs for two minutes? Hopefully it won’t happen too often!