Former Celtic captain Jackie McNamara has claimed that Steven Gerrard can’t rate his American international, Matt Polster, because of the limited game time he has had since arriving at the club.
Polster is rumoured to be one of several players being allowed to find new clubs either on loan or permanently in the January transfer window by Rangers.
So what has McNamara said?
When asked by Football Insider if he felt sorry for Polster, McNamara said:
“He’s not had a great deal of opportunities so yeah”.
“I suppose from his side of it, he needs an opportunity to show what he can do and maybe because of the form of the other players in his position or just because he isn’t rated highly enough, he hasn’t got them”.
“But that’s football, you need opportunities to show what you can do and maybe he’ll get them somewhere else”.
Is McNamara correct?
Polster was signed as a back up player because of his versatility to cover at right-back and defensive midfield, the issue he has is that those two areas are two of of the strongest on the park.
Steven Gerrard has already spoken about the likes of Greg Docherty being unable to force his way into the side, not through lack of quality, effort or attitude but purely because of the form and resilience of those in possession of the starting jerseys.
With James Tavernier, the club’s skipper, at right-back, Polster has very little chance of dislodging him as he has barely missed a game since he signed for Rangers.
Even as a back-up, Jon Flanagan will always be the preferred option on the bench because he can cover anywhere across the defence and with Nathan Patterson knocking heavily on the first-team door, Polster will find himself even further out of the picture.
The American knew when he signed for the Light Blues that the calibre of players in his position was as strong as it was anywhere on the park, as McNamara said though “that’s football”, he signed on a free contract and as such Rangers won’t be losing out if they do decide to sell him or let him leave the club.
Should Matt Polster have been given more of a chance at Rangers?
Yes
No
He may not have had much of an opportunity but this doesn’t mean he couldn’t do a job elsewhere in Scotland and it would be a surprise if he is still at the Gers when the window “slams shut”.