Cast your mind back to the start of the summer and you might remember Rangers trying their utmost to sign a centre-back.
More specifically, towards the end of last season and into the summer transfer window, Rangers had set their sights on recruiting Panamanian defender Jose Cordoba.
Having given the then Levski Sofia centre-back the Ibrox treatment, Rangers thought they’d convinced Jose Cordoba to move to Glasgow before the centre-back moved the goalposts at the final moment.
Nils Koppen has since explained that Rangers pulled the plug on a deal in the region of £3m amid uncertainty from Jose Cordoba, who wound up moving to Norwich City weeks later.
But a failure to re-enter the market and properly invest in the centre-back position is now coming back to haunt Rangers as injury envelops the club’s defence.
Rangers face defensive injury crisis
Scotland international John Souttar was playing the best football of his career to date when his latest injury struck for Rangers against Tottenham Hotspur.
The 28-year-old was forced off in the first half of the Europa League clash and subsequently missed the Premier Sports Cup Final defeat to Celtic.
With Philippe Clement explaining that Souttar would miss ‘several weeks’ due to the injury, in the language of the Rangers medical room this translates to anywhere between two weeks and three months.
Rangers had already lost versatile defender Neraysho Kasanwirjo to a season-ending injury sustained whilst on international duty with the Dutch U21s.
The Feyenoord loanee is back in Holland after having surgery and probably won’t play again this season.
And as if to rub the salt in the wounds after that shock 2-1 defeat to St Mirren, Rangers have also lost Leon Balogun to what looked like a painful injury in Paisley.
The Nigerian international defender, 36, pulled up with what looked like an Achilles issue before being replaced by harum-scarum Dutchman Robin Propper.
The ex-FC Twente captain really doesn’t seem to get it at Rangers and is like Bambi on ice every time he steps into an away ground in Scottish football.
Another nice guy centre-back who flaps with the slightest bit of offensive pressing or physicality, the jury is very much out on Propper and Rangers fans have little confidence in the defender.
It doesn’t help the 31-year-old is now our only fit natural centre-back with Clement even answering questions on the return of ex-Liverpool flop Ben Davies as a result.
Rangers rue lack of centre-back transfer activity
Kris Boyd reckons that if Philippe Clement fails to beat both Motherwell and Celtic, then it will be curtains for the under fire Rangers manager.
Fan pressure will certainly be approaching breaking point.
The Belgian coach had begun to rebuild some goodwill with fans heading into January but has just seen his team absolutely blow it in Paisley with fans sharpening axes across the country.
But no matter what happens over the course of these two matches, where Rangers will almost certainly be playing with a makeshift centre-back pairing of Robin Propper and Dujon Sterling, centre-back is a transfer priority come the winter window.
Rangers will rue failing to properly move on from Jose Cordoba in the summer with the club’s weak defence costing the club big this season between injury and incompetence.
Come January Rangers might finally be willing to open the chequebook and properly invest in the defence.
But it could be too little too late when it comes to Philippe Clement’s job, and almost certainly when it comes to the Scottish Premiership title.
