Former Rangers manager Alex McLeish thinks that Peter Lovenkrands “deserves more credit” for his abilities as a player and claimed that the jet-heeled Dane helped pioneer the role played by Liverpool duo Sadio Mane and Mo Salah.
Lovenkrands’ pace often saw him used wide but McLeish thinks he was more suited to a narrower role to take advantage of his “fantastic” finishing in front of goal.
The Dane now works in the Gers’ Academy with the Development squad and McLeish thinks he was far more effective centrally, playing more like a “modern-day” wide player than as an out-and-out winger.
“Peter was a fantastic finisher,” McLeish said, as quoted by the Glasgow Times.
“He was capable of overhead kicks or scuffing one in with his right foot.
“He was great at coming in off the line but playing on the wing wasn’t his greatest strength. People thought, ‘Peter has pace, he can go by people and put the ball in’ but there is an art to getting past people.
“Peter often looked more deadly when he ran inside or ran through the middle. He was sort of a modern-day wide player - like you see now in front threes, like [Liverpool pair] [Sadio] Mane and [Mo] Salah, who like to play narrow.
“He deserves more credit than he was given.”
Lovenkrands now works closely with Graeme Murty and he is in a fantastic position to help the young players coming through and aiming to challenge for a first-team spot.
The Dane is well-respected by the players and his experiences in the first-team, at Rangers and elsewhere, should help him continue to impress as a coach.