Rangers winger Jordan Jones sent a message to Steven Gerrard with a stunning training goal as he prepares to sit out of the club’s Europa League clash against Standard Liege.
The Gers trained at Ibrox on Wednesday before flying to Belgium for their group stage opener and Jones was involved in the session despite being ineligible for the fixture itself.
The decision to omit Jones from the squad was a harsh one, especially considering it came so soon after his impressive individual display in the 5-1 hammering of Motherwell at Fir Park in September.
Yet, given the size of the playing group and the relative lack of homegrown players, a number of stars were always going to have to miss out.
George Edmundson and Jermain Defoe didn’t make the cut either, so the Northern Ireland international isn’t alone.
However, it seems he’s determined to prove his worth this season and he sent his manager a reminder of his abilities with a stunning goal in training.
In footage shared by the official Rangers Twitter account, Jones receives a pass from Joe Aribo on the left before nutmegging Steven Davis, cutting inside past James Tavernier and bending a shot into the top right corner from just inside the box.
The unstoppable effort left Allan McGregor rooted to the spot in goal and Jones casually walked away, no doubt satisfied with what he had produced.
The 25-year-old will be only too aware that strong showings in training won’t result in Europa League outings, at least in the group stages.
However, he’ll be hoping that if he continues to impress over the coming days, he’ll get the nod for Sunday’s Premiership fixture against Livingston.
