After a prolific start to life at Rotherham United, Rangers loanee Jake Hastie is finding things tougher of late.
The 20-year-old joined the EFL League One outfit in search of the kind of regular game time that simply wouldn’t have been available at Ibrox.
Last season’s Scottish Young Player of the Year nominee for his exploits at Motherwell [PFAScotland.co.uk], was down the pecking order due to the Gers’ rampant recruitment of wingers over the summer.
He started superbly after heading south of the border, though.
Hastie netted three goals in his first three matches, announcing his arrival in fine style and impressing his adopted side’s fans. Last month, manager, Paul Warne, said the youngster had been a ‘dream’ during his first few weeks with the club [BBC Radio Sheffield].
Since then, though, things haven’t been quite so straightforward.
He’s still playing week in week out and is a key part of the XI. However, the goals have dried up.
Hastie hasn’t scored in his last five outings and hasn’t yet registered an assist in any of his eight appearances [Soccerbase].
Especially as a young player, it was always going to be impossible to maintain the standards he set immediately after his move.
Things were never going to be plain sailing after upping sticks and heading to England and this period will be as valuable a learning experience as those first few weeks of success.
The move was all about developing his game. He’s proven he can tear it up when he’s in top gear, now it’s just about learning how to perform consistently over a long period of time.
