Rangers may have scored four goals without reply as they dismissed Ross County at Ibrox, but much of the post-match discussion will focus not on Philippe Clement’s forwards but on his centre-halves.
After making a cameo appearance off the bench during the Europa League triumph over Union Saint Gilloise three days earlier, John Souttar was on a Premiership team sheet for the first time since that 3-0 victory over the very same opposition nearly two months ago.
And as Rangers thumped Ross County 4-0 this time around – taking their aggregate lead over Don Cowie’s side to 13-0 after three matches across 2024/25 – Souttar not only had a clean sheet to warm the cockles but something to celebrate at the other end too.
On his 80th Rangers appearance, a fourth goal.
After Ianis Hagi put the home side in control with an early, if somewhat fortunate, brace, Souttar tapped in at the far post from a Nico Raskin flick-on as Clement’s rejuvenated team finished the game off as a contest before the interval.
But while Souttar’s comeback marked the return of a familiar face, the man standing next to him at the heart of the Gers backline is someone the Ibrox faithful are rapidly getting accustomed to.
A new man, a young man, playing with the maturity and confidence of one far older than his tender years.
John Souttar praises Clinton Nsiala as Rangers thrash Ross County
Clinton Nsiala only made his Premiership debut against Dundee a few weeks ago.
The summer signing from AC Milan is rapidly approaching ‘undroppable’ territory, however, imperious defensively and once again the trigger for so many Rangers attacks with his fizzing diagonal passes already becoming something of a trademark move.
This was Souttar’s first time starting alongside Nsiala. The first of many, presuming the more experienced of the two can stay clear of the treatment table from here on in.
“He’s still so young. It obviously took him about six months to get into the team. I enjoyed playing with him. There’s good centre-backs here and he’s another one to to add to the list,” Souttar said in his post-match reflections.
“I really enjoyed playing with him and he’s got lot of quality.”
Rangers have now picked up 13 points from a possible 15 with Nsiala in the first XI.
Ross McCausland likened Clinton Nsiala to Virgil van Dijk last month. Not just because of his commanding 6ft 3ins frame but also his penchant for booming crossfield passes reminiscent of the Liverpool captain.
And this was another afternoon in which Nsiala proved himself be a fine defender first, but certainly a potentially elite ball-progressor. One who’s sensational passing range brings an all-new dimension to this Rangers team.
Nsiala proves doubters wrong as Philippe Clement’s new faces impress
To think, Nsiala arrived at Ibrox from Milan with doubters writing him off before he’d even kicked a ball in that blue shirt.
“I know a lot of people in the game who were saying to me; ‘He is not up to the standard of Rangers’,” one-time Celtic midfielder-turned-pundit Paul Slane revealed recently.
Consider those critics – like the Ross County frontline – silenced.
“The club had a plan to make things better than in these last ten, twelve years, and it’s a long-term plan,” Clement said recently, Nsiala, Jefte and Hamza Igamane justification for the club’s youth-focused transfer strategy.
“You need to look long-term. And this is the hardest part, the start of it. [But] you see already some some fruits growing. We got a lot of criticism about getting players like Hamza – he never played at this level – or Jefte and Clinton Nsiala.
“They never played at this level, but people start to see now why we brought them in.”
Left-back Jefte was outstanding once again as Rangers swept Ross County aside, while Igamane brought his usual presence albeit without getting his name on the scoresheet.
