Livingston manager Davie Martindale claims that the summer exits of Alfredo Morelos, Ryan Kent and Ianis Hagi have hurt Rangers.
The Lions boss was talking ahead of the Ibrox League Cup quarter-final clash between the two sides with the pressure on Rangers to deliver the first silverware of the season.
With Rangers’ Old Firm rivals Celtic out of the competition there is really no excuse for not going on to lift the trophy and lay down a marker for the rest of the campaign.
But things are not going to plan so far this season for Michael Beale and co with Rangers besieged by injuries to key players at a crucial moment of the campaign.
Nicolas Raskin, Todd Cantwell, Kieran Dowell, Tom Lawrence, Rabbi Matondo and Danilo are all out and Rangers will have to stumble to the October international break without most of them.
David Martindale talks Rangers exits
Despite defeating Motherwell at the weekend, the performance was met with boos by Ibrox supporters and David Martindale has pointed to a lack of cohesion in Rangers’ attack.
Moreover, the Livingston manager has spoken about the loss of Alfredo Morelos, Ryan Kent and Ianis Hagi, all of whom walked out the door this summer.
“If you look at the back four and midfield two, they have got good continuity,” David Martindale said. “John Lundstram, Ryan Jack and the back four all know the script.
“There’s still a wee bit of transition in terms of adapting to Scottish football. When you throw in the injuries they’ve had in the offensive areas, that makes it even more difficult to get that.
“The most difficult part of the game is putting the ball in the net and that’s probably the area where they’ve not had that continuity because most of their signings have been in that area.
“They also lost three players in Ianis Hagi, Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent who understood Scottish football and did very well at stages in their Rangers careers.
“I’ll tell you at 10pm on Wednesday night whether this is a good time to play Rangers.”
Rangers are set to welcome David Martindale and Livingston to Ibrox on Wednesday 27th September with the prize of a semi-final at Hampden for the winner.
The Gers also now know one influential first-teamer faces a race against time to make the match should Michael Beale overcome the Lions.
