Former Rangers striker Jason Cummings has made a strong start to life at Central Coast Mariners after his January move from Dundee.
Cummings helped Dundee to promotion to the Premiership last season but struggled to nail down a spot in the starting XI following their return to the top flight.
In December, after attending the Open Goal event in Glasgow without permission and then reporting unfit to train the following day, he was dropped from the first-team squad [Scottish Sun].
After some time out of the fold, manager James McPake appeared to forgive the 26-year-old. But by that stage, the wheels were already in motion regarding a move to Australia.
The ex-Ger, who scored a hat-trick in a Scottish Cup quarter-final during a six-month loan spell at Ibrox in 2018, joined A-League outfit Central Coast Mariners in late January on an 18-month deal.
Ex-Rangers striker Cummings makes strong start in Oz
He was given the no.9 shirt and less than a week later, he scored on his debut in a 3-2 defeat at Sydney FC.
There was some controversy in the subsequent days, when it was ruled that he would not be allowed to feature in the Australian Cup final due to the timing of his move, and Mariners would go on to lose the showpiece match 2-1 to Melbourne Victory.
Cummings returned to action on 10 February, playing 83 minutes of a 3-3 A-League draw with Macarthur FC and winning a penalty that was scored by former Hearts midfielder Oliver Bozanic.
And then, at the weekend, he produced a tidy finish in a home fixture against Perth Glory.
For over half an hour it looked like being the winner, but Daniel Stynes’ 93rd-minute goal for the visitors robbed the hosts of a much-needed victory.
The Mariners currently sit ninth in the 12-team league, but 2 goals and an assist in three appearances is a strong start to life down under for Cummings.
Perhaps this move will revive the former Ger’s career after all.
Meanwhile, a respected coach has confirmed he rejected the chance to join Gio van Bronckhorst’s staff at Ibrox.
