Despite barely having played 90 minutes this season, Alex Lowry remains a player who is at the forefront of Michael Beale’s mind, the playmaker’s stop-start season producing only 15 appearances in total when you factor in youth games too.
The enigmatic Scotland youth cap has 10 goals in these games at one every 80 minutes, a remarkable return for a midfielder who has been injured more than he has been fit and has had a constant battle for fitness throughout the season but it is a sign of things to come, if his manager has his way.
Speaking after the Scottish Cup win over Partick Thistle, Beale was asked why Lowry wasn’t in the match day squad in what was an ideal opportunity to give the teenager valuable game time, as reported by The Herald:
“Young Alex Lowry yesterday was likely to start but had to go off in training and he left the training ground in a boot, so that was unfortunate.
“He has had a start and a couple of substitute appearances and he was training really well this week. He has risen to the challenge of the players coming in and the players getting fit.
“There are some areas he has got to work on but it is the same with every player – most of the players playing today have got that.
“He was close to starting today but he had to come out of training yesterday – that’s all the trials and tribulations of being a young player on his journey.
“But I have spoken before about how I think he can be a big player for us in the future.”
Vital Rangers covered yesterday how Lowry could have spent the second half of the season at either Kilmarnock or FC Twente, the latter probably would have been a better move when you consider the tactics frequently deployed by Derek McInnes.
Hopefully, he has suffered nothing major and that he is back soon because there is definitely an opportunity for Lowry to get minutes in a team that has a manager who sets his team up to attack.
Rangers are crying out for a player who can play as a number eight and contribute at both ends of the park and Lowry has played there before, he would need to work on his conditioning but, with so many creative attacking midfielders now in the squad, it could be that adapting how he plays improves his chances of being a long-term success for the club.
We’d all love to see more of him but, as Beale says, he has plenty of time left in his career, and he has a lot to learn both on and off the pitch in the meantime.
Crying out for a No 8 ? What does that even mean ? We play with two holding midfielders and we have 4 players for they positions ( 5 if you count Sands ). That is not Lowrys role and never will be.He is an attacking midfielder and should be competing with Kent, Tillman, Cantwell and hopefully Lawrence soon for these three positions .Competition and variety is what we need and he should be part of that .Never mind trying to convert him to something he`s not .
Being able to play multiple positions is hugely important though. A number 8 offers more in the final third than Jack, Lundstram, Sands, Kamara – look at someone like Ian Ferguson as a good example, effective both sides of the ball. Lowry is young enough to develop his skill set and has played their for B and academy teams, just not physical enough to do it for senior side yet. Just look at Cantwell and how flexible he has been already.