The international break appeared to come at a good time for Rangers’ Glen Kamara.
The Finland midfielder, after all, had not started any of his club’s last three Scottish Premiership games under Mick Beale, playing just 12 minutes against Kilmarnock, Hibernian and Motherwell.
Upon his return to Ibrox shortly before Christmas, the Gers boss spoke publicly about his desire to help Kamara rediscover the form that made him one of the first names on the team sheet during Beale’s first spell at Ibrox.
But, after a brief resurgence, the one-time Arsenal youngster is at risk of cementing himself unwittingly as Rangers’ fourth choice central midfielder. John Lundstram, Ryan Jack and January recruit Nicolas Raskin are arguably ahead of him as things stand.
“You have to stand up and be counted. Show you belong in the team,” former Rangers ace Neil McCann tells the Scottish Sun.
“There is plenty of competition in the middle of the park now. And it is up to Glen to go in and show Mick what he has.
“Rangers spent money on Raskin when they could have waited until the summer. So it shows how much they wanted him. When you are at Ibrox you have to believe in yourself, and prove you deserve a place in the team.”
Glen Kamara struggling for Rangers and Finland
It seems that inconsistent form and inconsistent starts at club level are starting to affect Kamara on the international stage too. He completed the 90 minutes in both of Finland’s Euro 2024 qualifiers this month against Denmark and Northern Ireland but, even during Sunday’s 1-0 victory over Michael O’Neill’s side, his performance, to quote the Finnish branch of MSN Sport, ‘left a lot to be desired’.
“At the age of 27, Kamara should be (one of Finland’s) absolute star players,” they write.
“But the trend is worrying. Even in Rangers, Kamara’s position has begun to weaken moment by moment. Is his position in the national team also slowly starting to falter?”
Kamara was overshadowed by midfield partner Rasmus Schuller against Northern Ireland. The former completed one tackle to the latter’s eight. He very nearly gifted the hosts a goal too with an errant touch on the edge of his own box.
“Kamara’s performance, especially against Northern Ireland, left a lot to be desired,” MSN add. “Whereas Schuller responded to the challenge, understood his role, the same cannot be said about Kamara.
“Kamara can still be a leading player at least in the Finnish national team. But something has to happen in terms of attitude.”
A couple of months ago, Kamara was attracting interest from Premier League, Serie A and La Liga clubs, Beale seemingly facing an uphill battle as he looked to retain the services of a player entering his peak.
Now, Beale will be hoping that form is indeed fleeting, and that Kamara’s class is permanent.