Neil McCann believes Rangers should be prioritising a ‘younger, more vibrant version’ of Scott Arfield following Sunday’s Scottish League Cup final defeat to Celtic at Hampden Park, speaking to the BBC’s Scottish Football Podcast.
Much in the same way as Newcastle – held at arms’ length by a Manchester United side who performed a more-than-passable late-90s tribute act at Wembley, Casemiro in the role of a snarling Roy Keane – Rangers boarded the bus back home with a pang of regret and a familiar feeling of ‘what might’ve been’.
There is nothing more galling in football than your team failing to turn up in a cup final. And Mick Beale’s side – on the wrong end of two Kyogo Furuhashi goals – cannot even look themselves in the mirror and say they did all they feasibly could on the day.
A midfield of John Lundstram, Glen Kamara and a seemingly half-fit Malik Tillman struggled to cope with Celtic’s intensity and speed of thought. There were only two shots on target, meanwhile, during 90-plus minutes of action.
And while some were critical of Beale’s decision to leave Arfield on the bench, McCann insists that relying upon a 34-year-old to bend a final to his whim would be an indictment of Rangers recruitment. A long-term replacement, he argues, is required.
Rangers lose Scottish League Cup final to Celtic
“They need a player that’s going to hit the box and going to be a real threat. If they’re playing with one striker, you need other guys to get goals,” says McCann, a treble-winner in 2003.
“(Ryan) Kent hasn’t been scoring enough, (Fashion) Sakala’s come up with a couple, Tillman. But I think they need more of a power to hit the box. Today, there wasn’t enough. You need to take risks to get into the final third.”
Arfield remains arguably Rangers’ greatest goal threat from midfield. But he turns 35 in November, and his Ibrox contract is set to run out in the summer.
“Arfield is not getting any younger,” McCann adds. “We’re talking about being disappointed that Arfield didn’t come on.
“You’ve got to look at the recruitment. You’ve got to go and find someone who can provide the same qualities as Scott Arfield did and does. But probably a younger more vibrant version who can do it game after game after game, from the start.”
