Rangers are hanging by a thread in some areas of the pitch and Philippe Clement is relying on players who maybe wouldn’t otherwise be getting a game, one of those being Kieran Dowell.
The summer signing was a regular feature in pre-season and seemed to have settled in well, only for Michael Beale to drop him, never to be seen again until mid-week.
The Rangers squad is short on numbers and after another injury jinx at Ibrox struck John Lundstram, Kieran Dowell might be asked by the manager to go again.
Rangers might have to rely on Kieran Dowell
Dowell was neat and tidy against St Johnstone, in fact, he was one of our better players, looking to break the lines with forward passing.
One in particular to Cyriel Dessers only needed a better touch from the striker to put him in on goal.
It was the right idea, but not quite the right execution.
Speaking ahead of Rangers short trip to Fir Park to face Motherwell, Kieran Dowell has revealed why he hasn’t been seen much recently and his current fitness state:
“I think the manager likes me as a player. The issue was just there were a few players ahead of me in the positions I like to play.
“I’d like to think I could play back-to-back. I’ve been working hard in training, making sure I was fit so I can turn out the 90 minutes when called on. We have loads of games coming up so the squad is going to get stretched.”
We need a passer in midfield and Dowell is as good as there is in the squad in terms of being a good fit for manager Philippe Clement’s system.
The problem, as he mentions, is that Rangers have been playing well and getting good results.
The other, is that John Lundstram is a nailed on starter which leaves just one position available to him.
Due to not being included in the Europa League squad, Jose Cifuentes and Ryan Jack have previously been given the nod when they were fit – it made sense to play the players who could build a partnership with Lundstram.
Now though, with Rangers playing four games in 10 games, Kieran Dowell will get his chance to prove that he wants to stay at the club and that he can offer something long-term.
If he doesn’t, he will swiftly find himself back down the pecking order.
