Philippe Clement sprang a surprise at the weekend by including Ryan Jack in Rangers midfield but, as with everything, there was a plan.
The Gers boss isn’t scared to rotate his squad to make sure that they are all ready to play and gives each player the trust needed to believe that they feel part of the effort.
With his contract expiring at the end of the season, Ryan Jack might be in the last few months of his time at Rangers but fitness issues mean that he won’t be seen against Aberdeen.
Has the Rangers boss made a mistake with Ryan Jack?
Clement is clearly an outstanding man manager, as shown with his handling of Todd Cantwell’s early substitution against Aris Limassol, but on this occasion he might be putting the player’s needs before that of the team.
With Ayr United on Saturday, the Scotland international won’t be needed and could have had a week to recover after the clash against Aberdeen at Ibrox.
Instead, Philippe Clement will have Nicolas Raskin alongside John Lundstram.
His fellow Belgian can be trusted but Jack knows this fixture inside out and is better defensively.
We don’t have any midfielders, other than Dujon Sterling, as good at putting fires out but the summer signing has been missing recently too, although he is available for selection.
It can look like overkill to have two defensive midfielders but there is a reason for this.
Look how few chances Jack Butland has to deal with, it’s because the midfield are stopping attacks before they get to the final third and Aberdeen’s counter-attack is one of the best in the league.
Raskin will have to be on his toes and have his wits about him in a fixture that could be pivotal in the title race.
Ryan Jack is the type of player that Rangers need to find in the summer.
It is admirable of Clement to be looking after the player on this occasion, however, long-term, we can’t consider offering a new contract in the hope that we can fix him.
Injuries tend not to improve with age.
Against Aberdeen, the physical battle has to be won, let’s hope that the gaffer has made the right call to rest a player who could have been key to success.
