Neil Lennon was halfway towards providing Philippe Clement with a tactical solution ahead of Rangers’ Scottish League Cup final clash with his beloved Celtic on Sunday.
Before the Hoops legend stopped in his tracks and realised that, no, this wouldn’t quite work after all.
While Philippe Clement has tweaked his system a little recently – Danilo and Ianis Hagi coming back into the team while the in-form Hamza Igamane replaces Cyriel Dessers up top – Rangers have still utilised a back-four in every one of their games during 2024/25.
James Tavernier, meanwhile, has made all of his 21 appearances as a right-back.
So, while the prospect of Tavernier being torn to shreds by the jet-heeled Daizen Maeda once again is something that will keep the Rangers faithful up at night, Lennon accepts that it is probably too late in the day for Clement to make a shake-up such as this.
Neil Lennon highlights Rangers’ James Tavernier dilemma ahead of Celtic clash
Rangers will have only two days off between Thursday’s Europa League clash with Tottenham and Sunday’s cup final at Hampden Park.
Not enough, surely, to get Tavernier up to speed with a right-wing role. Or, indeed, to instil a switch to a wing-back, 3-4-2-1 system.
Lennon feels that Tavernier simply has to start, given the qualities he provides going forward.
But, just two months after Maeda ran rings around the Rangers captain while providing a goal and an assist in a thumping 3-0 win, whether or not to start his skipper against Celtic – or to bring in Dujon Sterling instead – is a dilemma only Clement can solve.
Barry Ferguson is urging Clement to pick Sterling. Whether he does, however, only time will tell.
“I would try something different but I would [still] have him in the team in some capacity,” says Lennon, who had two spells in the Celtic hotseat. “Set pieces may be important in the game [so] I would fit him in somewhere. He’s a threat!
“Maybe [Clement] needs to look at [a new approach], although you can’t change the system in a couple of days, you know? You can’t do it in a week. But there is no doubt he has struggled against Maeda.
“Maybe they need to look at maybe overloading on that side, maybe getting another midfielder to give him a little bit more protection.”
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Alan Hutton says wing role does not suit Rangers’ captain
Clement could provide a clue to his League Cup team selection when Rangers face Ange Postecoglou’s injury-hit Tottenham at Ibrox. If Tavernier starts against Spurs, does that mean the defensively-reliable but technically-limited Sterling will get the nod at Hampden?
Alan Hutton, who knows a thing or two about the life of a right-back, wonders if deploying Sterling against Maeda will the decision Clement eventually settles upon, rather than making a desperate switch of formation on the eve of such a key game.
“When he plays up there [on the wing], I think you lose a little bit,” Hutton argues. “It will be interesting to see what the manager does. I have a feeling he might play [against Tottenham] and Sterling maybe in the final.
“Tavernier has been outstanding for Rangers over the years. No full-back should have numbers like that. It’s quite incredible.
“He will say it himself, this has not been his best season. But the character that he’s shown shows you the type of guy he is…
“He has been the go-to guy for huge games. European nights; coming up with big goals and assists. And I think, sometimes, it’s very easy to pinpoint something on him and that’s not fair because it’s not just him [who should be blamed].”
The Rangers skipper has benefitted from Clement’s shift in approach during a run of four straight wins. Tavernier scored a stunner as Rangers hammered Ross County over the weekend.
And, while finding the net against Kilmarnock a few days earlier, British football’s all-time top-scoring defender – if you can call him that – trebled his 2024/25 tally in the space of just 180 minutes.
