In recent weeks, Kemar Roofe had cut a frustrated figure as he was kept on the bench for long spells including dropped points at Tannadice and at Ibrox against Motherwell.
In the former fixture, he never made it on to the field whilst for the latter he was only given the last 10 minutes. Against Aberdeen on Saturday, when it mattered, the Jamaica international underlined his importance.
The call from Giovanni van Bronckhorst was a controversial but ultimately a successful one as Roofe bagged a scrappy winner, in his typical poacher style, after he had replaced Alfredo Morelos with the Colombian having endured an unproductive game.
Far from the former Anderlecht man being out of favour, Gio has stated that his other striker will have a key role to play over the course of the rest of the season. At the post-match presser on Saturday, GvB commented (on how important Roofe will be – 2.28):
“Very important. He has been struggling with some injuries and is still working hard on the training ground to be ready. I gave him a compliment in the locker room because it’s not easy, especially for the players who haven’t played a lot in recent weeks.”
“I said before you keep training hard and wait for your chance and today his chance came and he made the difference.”
Impact
A two week break in terms of Premiership duty is now underway. During this time, Europa League and Scottish Cup action comes to the fore and the hope is that a different dynamic can create momentum and optimism for the crucial league games to follow.
Even more is the need for Rangers to find another gear and as part of that, to score more goals. This is where Roofe can come in.
Previously, a partnership with Morelos hasn’t really paid dividends but the challenge for Gio and his staff will be to find a way to get the Walsall-born attacker into the team and into positions like the one he profited from on Saturday because that is what he does best. Yes, he won’t pin and bully defenders like his mate, but nobody else has the movement of Roofe and his natural finishing ability.
That is exactly why the manager is right to say that he will be a very important player between now and the rest of the season.