Antonio Colak has to start against Liverpool.
Similar to when Walter Smith used to keep Kris Boyd on the bench for European games, I’ve never quite understood – or accepted – the rationale for leaving the player most likely to get you a goal out of the team, especially when chances might be at a premium.
A manager and/or coach, should be spending time on the training ground improving things like link up play and pressing rather than sacrifice what is usually a natural gift, the ability to score goals, for a player who has a better work rate.
Colak doesn’t lack work rate or desire, nor does he lack presence or pace. There is no reason why Giovanni van Bronckhorst can’t work with the Croatian international to fill the gaps in his game, even if, at 29-years old, some might consider him too old to learn new tricks.
We’ve already seen, in his short time at Rangers, that he can adapt in terms of his involvement in building play, an attribute that previously set Alfredo Morelos out on his own as our main man.
But when it comes to finishing – at the moment – there is only one option.
We play with two full-backs who look to get balls into the box and Colak lives to play between the width of the posts. Against Hearts and St Mirren, we have seen him drop deep, move the ball wide and then attack the penalty spot, both times resulting in a goal – he now has 13 goals and two assists in 16 appearances.
There will be opportunities against Liverpool and there’s only one man who should be on the end of them – Antonio Mirko Colak.