Glasgow Rangers continued their unbeaten start under Michael Beale with a 3-2 away victory against Kilmarnock on Wednesday evening in freezing conditions down in Ayrshire.
The result means the Ibrox side have won seven matches and drawn one since the arrival of the Englishman as manager and despite there still being a few things that need improvement – such as the defence – it is good to see some players back to their best.
Ryan Kent has been in sparkling form recently, scoring twice and grabbing an assist in his previous seven matches, while Alfredo Morelos looks like a man reborn under the 42-year-old, rediscovering his goalscoring form by netting four times since mid-December, and if these two stay in form, anything can happen in the Premiership title race.
Against Kilmarnock however, John Lundstram was one of the poorer performers on the night and Beale should consider replacing him with Ryan Jack against St Johnstone in this evening’s Scottish Cup tie.
Beale must ditch Lundstram
The ever-reliable midfielder, who has an average Sofascore rating of 7.10 in the league this season just couldn’t get into the tie at Rugby Park in midweek.
His rating of 6.4 via Sofascore was the worst out of the Rangers’ starting XI and although his passing ability held up, holding an 89% success rate while taking 112 touches, he struggled to assert any positive influence.
He took two shots during the match; one was blocked while the other was off target and he lost 90% of his duels while also losing possession a staggering 13 times all game.
Usually such an energetic and combative presence in the heart of the sides midfield axis, he didn’t even register one tackle, clearance, or interception and was dribbled past once in what was an uncharacteristically poor performance from the 27-year-old.
With the matches coming thick and fast, Beale should drop him to the bench and bring Ryan Jack back into the starting XI, this will freshen up the side slightly and give the £22k-per-week Lundstram a much-needed rest following his recent exploits.
