If the events of the last week taught Rangers anything – and it is a point Kris Boyd was keen to make after that Motherwell triumph – it’s that one member of Philippe Clement’s squad is quickly becoming undroppable.
The standard of Rangers’ performance with him compared to without him, only a few days apart, was simply night and day.
Without Vaclav Cerny – injured as Philippe Clement’s team fell nine points behind Aberdeen in the Premiership table – the Glasgow giants looked toothless; lacking in any semblance of fluidity in the final third.
The sigh of relief emanating out of Ibrox when Cerny was passed fit to start against Motherwell in Sunday’s Scottish League Cup semi-final at Hampden Park, then, could have broken the sound barrier.
Rangers’ most in-form player heading into the weekend, Cerny’s defence-splitting pass to set up Nedim Bajrami’s late winner in transition was the Czech Republic international’s seventh goal contribution in his last five Rangers appearances.
And, for Boyd, Cerny is rapidly approaching ‘undroppable’ status. If he isn’t there already, that is.
Kris Boyd thinks Vaclav Cerny may be Rangers’ key player now
“Good play again from Cerny on the right-hand side [in the build-up to Bajrami’s goal]. I have got to say, I thought he was Rangers’ best player once again,” the legendary striker says after his former employers set up a final clash with Old Firm rivals Celtic.
“If he had to be missing for a period of time, I think Rangers would be struggling. He obviously missed that game on Wednesday night [against Aberdeen] and they will be absolutely delighted to have him back.
“He is a threat, he plays [with his] head up, he sees passes, he’s already got on the scoresheet a good few times as well…
“Dare I say it; I don’t think Rangers can afford for him not to be there right now.”
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Philippe Clement delighted to see Cerny return
Only a few weeks ago, Cerny’s Rangers career appeared to be heading in only one direction.
After snapping back at the criticism coming his way from the Ibrox terraces before his half-time omission from Hibernian came a couple of awful Europa League misses against Malmo and Lyon.
So, understandably, Clement feels emboldened as his faith in Rangers’ Wolfsburg loanee pays off.
“It’s important [to have key players back from injury],” the Belgian smiled after arguably Cerny’s most impressive half of football in a Rangers shirt helped turn a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 win against Motherwell.
“We missed Vaclav this week in Aberdeen. You see also his importance in the squad. All these things are very important. The more players who are available, the better for the squad. We have a very busy schedule; Thursday again, Sunday again.
“We will need this rotation and everybody available also in that way to get the results that we want. That’s winning every time. Very simple. But not simple to do. It’s very simple what we want. And what we said from the first day we stepped in this building.
“That’s what I want to see. A mentality in this team to fight every time to win.”
