Fashion Sakala (finally) arrived as a Rangers player against Motherwell, proving that what we had seen previously weren’t just flashes of potential but a real glimpse into what he is capable of – if he is given the time to impress.
Steven Gerrard has spoken about how he seems to be more settled and is getting to know and understand his team mates better, that Steven Davis told him to keep making runs in the box because eventually he’ll find him is almost prophetic.
Former Rangers defender Alan Hutton, speaking to Football Insider, has explained how it can sometimes take a player time to adapt to a new club and how trust isn’t always, immediately, offered:
“We’ve seen flashes, we don’t see him every day. So we’ve seen him in certain games when he’s come on and lit it up. Then we’ve not seen so much.
“Obviously everything’s clicked for him on the day. There’s been good passes, good movement, good finishes. Let’s just hope that he can build on this and be more consistent.”
“I think it takes time. Something’s just clicked. Obviously those players train with him daily, they play matches with him. It takes time for a player to settle.
“You can make a quick judgement as football player after one training session: ‘Ooh, I’m not sure. Mmm, what’s he going to bring to the table?’
“You can judge really quickly but it takes time to overcome that. Settle in, getting to know the players, getting to know their personalities.
“Then you think: ‘Wait a minute. He’s actually showing he can do this or do that.’ Then you do trust them.
“But that takes time to build up. It’s like anything, trust takes time to build up. So they’ve obviously seen enough of him in training over the weeks.
“We’ve seen flashes, we don’t see him every day. So we’ve seen him in certain games when he’s come on and lit it up. Then we’ve not seen so much.
“Obviously everything’s clicked for him on the day. There’s been good passes, good movement, good finishes. Let’s just hope that he can build on this and be more consistent.”
Hutton is right, if we compare Sakala to Cedric Itten it makes it an easier point to explain. Itten scored some important goals for us but whenever he was given the opportunity to start – Lech Poznan aside – he never really made an impact, Sakala on the other hand has – he now has the credit in the bank that the Swiss international was never able to build despite doing little wrong.
Strikers are judged on goals, that’s the bottom line. We only need to look at the criticism of Alfredo Morelos this season to see what Rangers fans want from their forwards, linking play isn’t enough, neither is being able to beat a man if there is no end product.
Sakala won’t score a hat-trick every week but he has proven what he is capable of and gives Gerrard another option in attack, in the right games, he could be a game changer – that the player himself says that there is more to come is ominous for opposition defences everywhere.