If anyone knows what it takes to be a top centre-half, it’s Alex McLeish. The former Rangers manager had a stellar career and was genuinely considered to be one of the continent’s finest at his peak, that he kept Alan Hansen out the Scotland team on a regular basis says it all about his ability.
McLeish, speaking to Football Insider, has been talking about how big a blow it is for Steven Gerrard to lose one of, if not his finest, defender in the shape of Filip Helander who is due to spend the next few months on the sidelines following surgery to his knee.
The ex-Gers gaffer expects others to step up to the mark and fill the void left by a key component’s of Rangers recent success:
“Yeah, it is. Just when he was coming to peak form.
“Scoring the goal against Celtic must have been massive for his self-belief.
“Then to get an injury, not just an injury for a couple of weeks injury but one that’ll keep you out for months, it’s heartbreaking for the kid.
“It’s a blow to Rangers because the strength and depth in defence was looking very good at this part of the scenario.
“Now he’s out for a couple of months. They’ll be looking for titanic performances from the centre-backs who are there.”
The biggest problem with Helander being injured isn’t that we don’t have someone who can cover him, Leon Balogun has been an outstanding signing for Rangers but, like the Swede, he just can’t play as often as Connor Goldson does, his body won’t allow it so he has to have his minutes managed.
The issue, is that Jack Simpson seems to be miles away from being good enough to be a centre-half for the Light Blues, and, frustratingly, a step down from both George Edmundson and Nikola Katic.
If Gerrard decides that Simpson can’t be trusted, his only other option is to move Calvin Bassey in one place and put him alongside Goldson, a move that would surely signify the end of the former’s Rangers career.
McLeish is right, the players that are available have to up their game and provide the same protection that Helander has provided for our keepers since he first arrived, anything less won’t be tolerated.