Rangers boss Michael Beale has suggested that Todd Cantwell was trying a little too hard in Saturday’s defeat to Kilmarnock.
New season, new signings, same sense of frustration for Rangers fans.
Rugby Park has produced some tricky games for Rangers in the past and Saturday was another one.
Brad Lyons scored the only goal of the game, handing Kilmarnock a dream start to the season.
For Rangers, it’s a nightmare; there is little margin for error when it comes to try to win a league title and starting with a defeat is a shocker.
It’s a long season though and Beale will be looking for much better in the coming weeks and months.
Some Rangers fans will be pointing the finger at Beale though, especially after a somewhat surprising lineup at Kilmarnock.
Todd Cantwell – who impressed so much after arriving from Norwich City in January – was left on the bench and came on for the final half an hour.
Michael Beale explains Todd Cantwell decision
That seemed like a strange decision and it didn’t exactly pay off as Rangers slipped to defeat.
Beale was understandably asked just why on earth Cantwell was left out of the Rangers side.
Speaking to Rangers Review, Beale suggested that he didn’t think the early part of the game would suit Cantwell.
Beale seemingly felt that the game would be tight and wouldn’t really suit Cantwell’s strength’s, preferring to save him for when the game opened up a little.
Yet with Rangers falling behind, Beale’s plan completely fell apart and Cantwell wasn’t able to bring Rangers back into the game.
Beale even suggested that Cantwell ‘tried a little too hard’ when he came on and wouldn’t commit to starting him against Servette in midweek.
“Yeah, I can. I didn’t feel the first part of the game would suit Todd, I thought the game would open up,” said Beale. “He came on and clearly tried a little too hard in moments, there’s no issue he will be available for selection on Wednesday and we’ll see,” he added.
