Rangers’ loan flops may not end up the failures they could’ve been had Billy Kirkwood not been appointed.
Steven Gerrard’s latest appointment, that of the loan manager, is interesting in several ways. Apparently, this is something a lot of the big clubs are doing, but it’s relatively unheard of in Scotland.
The idea is that the manager will keep tabs on each and every player currently out of the club on loan. According to Gerrard, this is a full-time, seven-day-a-week role that’s been introduced.
So Kirkwood has to make sure everyone is training properly, eating properly, and most importantly, developing properly. The news was made last month, and the first name that came to many people’s minds was Greg Docherty.
He’s the one who’s been firing whilst out on loan with Shrewsbury Town. Four goals and four assists has many raving about him, and having Kirkwood there to report back to Gerrard is a massive thing for him.
But, surely this appointment is aimed more towards just seeing how Docherty is doing.
Now is the time to impress
Outside of the former Hamilton man, there’s not a player out on loan who you would think could break back into the side. The rest of the loanees – Jason Holt, Edouardo Herrera, Joe Dodoo, Jak Alnwick, and Lee Hodson – wouldn’t be expected to come back and make their mark.
Yet, does Kirkwood’s appointment show that Gerrard is giving them a chance to impress regardless? Even though Mark Allen may have hinted last month that he’s looking to get Herrera off the wage-bill, Gerrard seems to be open to giving everyone a chance.
Of course, Rangers also have four other players out on loan from their academy. There’s no doubt Kirkwood’s role includes making sure they’re developing properly.
But the appointment of the loan manager simply has to be a boost to those you wouldn’t expect would get back into the side. After all, consistently impressive performances from any of them would therefore get reported back to Gerard.
The Rangers manager can’t afford to ignore any loan stars who consistently impress.
The downside? None of them really are. Hodson is in and out of the St Mirren side, whilst Holt is hot and cold at Fleetwood Town. Herrera and Dodoo’s moves have been disasters, despite a chink of light for the latter.
If any of these players really want to fight for their futures at Ibrox, that starts now. They’ll never have a better chance now that Kirkwood has been appointed.
