If Rangers aren’t beating Dunfermline 4-0, you know there are problems.
That seemed to be the marker when the side from Fife was in the Premiership, they were never a bogey team, never a side that caused us particular problems and Steven Gerrard will be hoping for more of the same tonight when we play our first game of the Premier Sports Cup.
We might not have made the Champions League but you won’t see Lionel Messi lifting the gloriously named Premier Sports Cup any time soon, another undersold sponsorship and over priced subscription package that Scottish fans will have to pay to watch their teams play, who is the real winner here I ask?
The Gers gaffer has hinted that he won’t be making a lot of changes from Tuesday’s defeat to Malmo, it does look like a short turnaround but then you remember that we have been playing Thursday – Sunday for the best part of three years, if anything, this is a longer rest given the evening kick-off time.
With Gerrard’s comments in mind, this is the team I think he will send out to put in a strong performance and get us to the next round:
I’m a great believer in starting strong, then make changes if necessary rather than the other way around. I’d fully expect Stephen Kelly and Calvin Bassey to both be on the pitch at some point but a lot will depend on how fit others are to start.
In normal circumstances I’d be all for having Bassey, Patterson and Kelly starting but we need to get back on track plus Ianis Hagi, John Lundstram, and Kemar Roofe all need minutes in their legs because of the disjointed pre-season.
I think Cedric Itten deserves to start – especially with Fashion Sakala not 100% fit – he’s not done much wrong, but we have a lot of players that Gerrard has to try to keep happy, there are certain ones that don’t really sit games out and I’d expect Ryan Kent to be one of those as he attempts to find form again – it has to be remembered that he has still been a key contributor with two assists against Malmo.
The defence is a hard area to call, it could look completely different but, similar to other areas of the park, we’ve not really clicked yet and I’d want us to go as strong as possible with only one of the two deputy full-backs starting depending on the fitness of Borna Barisic and whether or not the best thing for him is a rest or to get more minutes in his legs – only the coaching staff will know the answer to this.
On the back of three defats, it’s not the time for experimentation, go strong early, put the game to bed, then make changes – simple eh?