Philippe Clement has gradually been tinkering with some of the players in his Rangers starting XI as he looks to find the perfect balance.
One area of the park where there has been consistency, but questions asked of the manager is in midfield and, against better opponents, he must get the personnel and tactics right.
With Anders Christiansen Malmo’s main man in the engine room, Clement has a decision to make in the middle of the park but straying from what Rangers fans have seen so far this season seems unlikely.
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Philippe Clement has Rangers midfield dilemma for Malmo
The Gers boss is fully aware that he doesn’t have an out and out number six and even discussed going into the free agent market to sign one.
Connor Barron has been the man in possession of the jersey with Nicolas Raskin having to look on from the sidelines.
It appears to be one or the other rather than any hopes of an energetic and dynamic pairing in the heart of the team.
One player who was a must pick last season has started this season slowly and put in a series of worrying and ineffective displays.
Having missed most of the pre-season friendlies, Dujon Sterling has been playing catch-up but still looks off the pace and nowhere near as physically dominant as he was previously.
What this leaves and, perhaps, what the team selection against Dundee hinted at, is that Mohamed Diomande will partner Barron.
Good out of possession, the Ivory Coast international hasn’t quite been as influential with the ball as he is capable of.
Against Dundee, he looked back to his best and this is the Diomande that Rangers will need against a strong Malmo outfit.
He seemed to benefit from Tom Lawrence also helping out in a deeper role rather than playing alongside the striker – a small but significant tactical shift.
The signing of Nedim Bajrami looked certain to end the Welshman’s time in the key playmaker position, however, the way that he dropped to then play Bajrami in behind for Rangers third goal against Dundee showed how effective they can be together.
Lawrence has come on to a game and is worthy of his starting place, for now.
By playing in a more number eight rather than number 10 role, Clement’s use of Lawrence has freed up Diomande.
Clement must find a way to unleash Diomande
As Rangers best midfielder, the Gers boss is right to try and find a way to get the best out of him if he is to reach his potential, Clement is clearly a fan:
“He’s a high potential player, and I don’t think that Rangers will be his last step. No, I don’t think so, I’m sure.
“Of course, you need some luck with injuries in your career, but if he stays out of that, he’s going to make bigger steps because he has talents, but not only talent, but also the really right mentality to work for the team, to be very concentrated, to be very focused.
“And those are the things you’re looking for when you go in talks with players, you always can see what they can do on the pitch or what they are doing and what you think you can improve.
“But the most important thing is how people are ambitious to evolve themselves and how they want to take in information and work around that and is somebody with really high focus on those things.
“So it’s like a sponge [with] him. He will get better and better. The more information he gets, the more experience he gets, the better he will become.
“I think he can (reach the very top).”
This is the stage that Diomande must make an impression.
As a £4.3m signing, Rangers have put their trust in the 22-year old to be the main man in midfield and the one to link the defence and attack.
How well he plays could have a huge impact on whether or not Rangers return from Sweden with a better result than last time.
