Rangers game against Ross County being postponed is a double-edge sword, one that sees momentum temporarily halted but also one that sees a congested fixture list eased and more time for players like Connor Goldson to recover.
Gers boss Philippe Clement’s squad is hanging by a thread just now with Borna Barisic, Ben Davies and the vice-captain all struggling to be fit for the Old Firm derby, however, having one less fixture means that all the focus can be on preparation rather than recovery.
Rangers need Connor Goldson fit for the derby and the pressure of not being 100% for Ross County’s visit to Ibrox may well be a blessing in disguise.
Rangers postponement sees Connor Goldson Old Firm advantage
We saw last season, and on the odd occasion this season, that the 31-year old centre-half remains a pivotal component of our defence.
Leon Balogun, John Souttar and Ben Davies are all good players but none of them offer the same organisational or leadership skills as the £3.5m signing from Brighton.
Speaking after the win over Motherwell on Christmas Eve, Clement was pessimistic about Connor Goldson returning for Rangers for the scheduled clash with Ross County:
“I hope it will be okay.
“He felt a little bit in his groin at the end of the game.
“But we will see, we will make an assessment tomorrow.”
Hopefully, it was more of a precaution than anything else.
Were he to miss the derby too, we would be down to just Souttar and Balogun.
The defence has been largely unaffected by the recent injury jinx which has seen Leon King and Dujon Sterling both drafted into midfield, but it is starting to creak now.
As fans, we would all have wanted to close the gap at the top of the table back down to two points and the defenders we have available should have been good enough, the bigger picture though is the Old Firm derby.
What was an advantage for Celtic playing a day early is now one for Rangers with Connor Goldson and a few of his teammates, who might have been carrying the odd ache and strain, getting the chance to fully recover.
There have been a few big derbies in recent seasons but this one genuinely feels like it could be pivotal in deciding who becomes champions.
We need as many of our best players available for selection and Goldson is clearly one of those, getting him as close to 100% as possible could be the difference – those odds have just significantly improved.
