If it wasn’t for such a poor team performance, Ryan Kent might actually have been getting praise for one of his better domestic displays this season.
The Gers winger was let down by his profligate team-mates as he set up a few chances that should have been put away, only John Lundstram managing to fulfil his duties properly, the midfielder the only player to be rated higher than Kent on Sofascore’s analysis of the match.
Kent was doubled-up on as usual but was still getting into the box and to the by-line, crossing with both feet in the process. This only makes the selection of Borna Barisic over Ridvan Yilmaz even more bizarre given that the winger is more than capable of throwing crosses into the box if that is what the manager wants.
Speaking to Football Insider, Alan Hutton reckons that we could see Kent back to his best but he needs to commit his future, one way or the other:
“There is obviously a lot of noise surrounding Ryan Kent in terms of will he stay or will he go. The rest of his contract is running out, everybody knows this.
“I think for him personally he needs to secure his future, whether that be at Rangers or away. Then he can solely concentrate on his football.
“He will know that, numbers wise, it has to get better. He has got all the ability in the world, he is a great football player. That is why he gets judged because he is better than what he has shown.
“It is not ideal as a Rangers supporter to sit and think what is happening? Is he signing or not? So there is a lot of uncertainty around him at this moment in time and it can’t be helping his performances on the pitch.“
Hutton is right, it has to be having an impact, there is little other reason for his form to have been so poor this season given his usually high standards.
Van Bronckhorst has spoken about Kent – and Alfredo Morelos – with regards to a new contract but doesn’t appear to be too worried, he obviously wants him to stick around but accepts that it is out of his hands, one thing that he can affect though is his place in the team and the gaffer will be hoping that there are more performances like the one we saw on Saturday, regardless of where the 25-year old intends to spend next season.