Michael Beale had a decision to make at the weekend and he chose against picking John Lundstram, Ryan Jack and Malik Tillman in his squad to face Livingston, the midfield trio suffering from a variety of knocks and now face a race against time to get fit for the league cup final.
In their absence, Nico Raskin started again and followed up his dominant display against Partick Thistle with another that suggests that he is going to be a fixture in midfield for a long time to come.
In what could be just his fourth appearance in a Rangers shirt, Raskin could be thrown in at the deep end at Hampden at the weekend and the Belgian Under-21 international would love to be named in the starting XI, as reported by The Daily Record:
“Of course I feel ready. I think the boys are coming back for the cup final but yeah I’m ready.
“I like to play in big games like that. I like to play with pressure. I’m very excited about that game.
“Oh I think just give me one month and I’ll be totally fit physically.
“When you arrive into a team, you need time to know the principles of the team but hopefully I can grow and be a better player than I’m showing now.
“I’m very excited to play against Celtic in this cup final because in football you only remember trophies. I’m here to win trophies so I can’t wait.
“I’ve spoken to the guys and they all say it’s going to be crazy, something I’ve never seen before. So I’m really excited to see this atmosphere and see what it’s like to play in it.”
I’ve absolutely no doubts that Raskin will start. His fitness isn’t an issue and his quality certainly isn’t. If anything, he’s come straight in and posted the most complete midfield performances of the season – if only we had signed him in the summer.
Another week on the training pitch with his team-mates will only see him improve and we should be excited about seeing him at Hampden, it has been too long since we have had a midfielder as dynamic and capable of contributing at both ends of the park.
The Rangers jersey never shrinks to size but Raskin’s already looks like a perfect fit.