Rangers boss Barry Ferguson, having been a player himself of course and one of some repute, knows the feeling of being left out of a game in which you are desperate to feature.
So, as he picked his starting XI ahead of Sunday’s Old Firm derby clash with Celtic at Parkhead, Ferguson would have been very in-tune to the emotions of those staring at the team sheet in dismay.
There was no place for Nedim Bajrami. Robin Propper, Ianis Hagi and Hamza Igamane all had to make do with a substitute appearance off the bench, alongside Tom Lawrence and Clinton Nsiala.
Igamane would deliver the perfect response with a ‘phenomenal’ finish rifled past Kasper Schmeichel in the 88th minute. But for the rest of that aforementioned quintet, Ferguson does feel some sympathy even if he knows his job – in the Rangers dugout – is to make the sort of difficult decision lesser men would shy away from.
“Some of them will be disappointed to be left out,” Barry Ferguson said after Rangers ended their five-year wait for a win on the road against Celtic. “But I believe they are all good players.”
At least Bajrami, Hagi and co had a spot on the bench. The same cannot be said of Alex Lowry last weekend.
Despite leaving Rangers for Wycombe Wanderers during the January transfer window in pursuit of more regular game time, the early signs south of the border suggest that things could yet get worse before they get better.
Alex Lowry left out by Wycombe Wanderers again after RAngers exit
Alex Lowry made a bright start to life at Wycombe, impressing the supporters on his debut in an FA Cup clash with Preston North End in early February.
The six weeks since then, however, must have felt like a lifetime. Cameo appearances against League One opponents Wigan Athletic, Burton Albion and Birmingham City – Kieran Dowell’s Birmingham City – initially seemed to be a classic case of a manager easing a mid-season signing into his starting XI.
Few would have imagined that Lowry would find himself on the outside looking in at Wycombe. And certainly not the man himself.
After being cut from the matchday squad entirely against Peterborough United and Wrexham, Lowry was spotted on the Rotherham pitch before Tuesday’s 3-2 win in Yorkshire. But away from the rest of Mike Dodds’ squad, and despite being joined by the similarly out-of-favour Jasper Pattenden, Lowry cut a rather isolated figure.
Left out for a third League One game in a row.
Now, manager Dodds has not really given too much away with regards with the former Rangers starlet’s backseat role at Adams Park. The Wycombe boss believes Alex Lowry has the talent to become a ‘very good player’.
And, in fairness, the 21-year-old Scot has joined a Chairboys side sitting second in the table, in the automatic promotion positions. Lowry arrived, mid-season, at a team flying high and with so many players in the midst of impressive personal campaigns.
Perhaps anyone expecting Lowry to stroll straight into the XI were always a little misguided.
Mike Dodds still believes in former Rangers starlet
Yet, the surprise is that Dodds cannot even find room on his bench right now for a footballer who, in the words of former Rangers coach Graeme Murty, possesses excellent ‘technical ability’ and a ‘range of passing’ and brings a ‘remarkable degree of self-confidence’.
Albeit, reading between the lines, maybe too much self-confidence when a dash of maturity is required.
“Alex clearly has got quality and you can see that”, Dodds told Wycombe’s official website a fortnight ago. “I think my responsibility, as the coach and the developer of Alex, is for him to understand that it is not always about the flicks and tricks, which I know the crowd like.
“There are other important elements in the game. And [teaching him that] is going to be my responsibility over our relationship and as our relationship grows.
“If he can marry up those two elements, he is going to be a very good player.”
Dodds worked as head of individual player development at Sunderland – one of the most prosperous academies in the country – while also being credited with helping Jude Bellingham on his way at Birmingham City.
In time, Dodds may yet be the ideal coach at the ideal moment in Alex Lowry’s young career.
But right now, he must be wondering where the next minutes are going to come from.
