Rangers boss Steven Gerrard must recall classy midfielder Steven Davis to the starting XI for Saturday’s Premiership clash against Kilmarnock.
The Gers boss opted to rotate at Hamilton on Sunday, dropping Davis and Ryan Jack to the bench and bringing in both Bongani Zungu and Glen Kamara.
The move backfired, though, as Rangers failed to stamp their authority on the game and eventually dropped two points in a 1-1 draw.
Davis’ influence was particularly missed, as shown by the marked difference he made to the game after being introduced as a substitute in the 78th minute.
The Northern Ireland skipper livened things up instantly, showing great vision and quality to slide a defence-splitting pass through to Borna Barisic which led to the Gers’ only goal.
The only other similar pass produced across the 90 minutes was fellow substitute Jack’s disguised ball to Ryan Kent that the out of form 24-year-old failed to capitalise on.
Davis was particularly impressive in his brief outing, though. He had 28 touches in 16 minutes on the pitch including injury time and recorded an impressive pass accuracy of 95.8% [WhoScored.com].
It’s perhaps unrealistic to expect the 36-year-old to play every game between now and the end of the season, but Gerrard saw on Sunday how much he loses when the veteran isn’t in the side.
Without him, Rangers often struggle to find a tempo and to break down disciplined opposition defences, while his experience also counts for plenty defensively in terms of his ability to break up attacks and pounce on loose balls.
Rangers’ lead at the top of the table is still a very considerable one but the job isn’t done yet and with Kilmarnock likely to pose a substantial challenge at Ibrox on Saturday following the appointment of Tommy Wright as their manager, Davis must be brought back into the starting XI to give the Gers the best chance of taking all three points.
Meanwhile, a player who struggled at Accies is likely to get another chance to impress against Killie.
