Rangers scraped past Hibernian in a post Europa League hangover with Philippe Clement knowing that his team is capable of so much more.
The squad isn’t in the midst of an injury crisis, however, the problem that the manager has is that players who can all play the same position are missing, leaving his options limited.
If Cyriel Dessers hadn’t played as much football this season, Hamza Igamane might have been able to play on the left rather through the middle but when the young Moroccan was replaced, there was another reminder that the Rangers number nine shirt is still up for grabs.
Why Cyriel Dessers continues to frustrate Rangers fans
With seven goals and three assists in 11 games, Dessers can feel perfectly entitled to boast about a solid start to the season.
Yes, his numbers are great, but they don’t paint the full picture.
Can Rangers really rely on him when it matters?
A strange question to ask about a player with a goal contribution rate better than one every 90 minutes.
The evidence in the last two games is there for everyone to see, Dessers still struggles to pass the eye test.
Against Malmo, Dessers could have put the game to bed and allowed Clement to make changes.
The 29-year old was one v one and no more than 10 yards from goal, only to hit the ball high, wide and not very handsome.
Dessers always gets into great positions; his movement is as good as any striker Rangers have had.
Another example was against Hibs at Ibrox.
At 1-0 in the second half, Rangers were looking tired and running on empty with such a short turnaround from the trip to Sweden.
Nedim Bajrami brought some quality to proceedings and clipped an inch perfect cross to Dessers, unmarked, and only a few yards away from goal.
With an easy header at the near post, Dessers instead decided to go back across the goal and fired straight at the keeper.
These are the moments that add up at the end of the season.
It wouldn’t have taken much for Hibs to get a corner or a free-kick and nick a goal, that Dwight Gayle pushed a header just wide only a minute later highlights how important these moments can be.
Just look at the penalty awarded against John Souttar, anything can happen when the ball is flying around the box.
Only one thing will see Dessers criticism disappear
Speaking after his last-minute equaliser against Dynamo Kyiv, Dessers explained how he manages to cope with the criticism that has come his way:
“As a striker you have to believe.
“Even if it is an impossible ball or you don’t think it will fall.
“I knew it was the last ball into the box in the game, and that was the case. I was happy to be on the end of it.
“I don’t have to answer people, I’m just doing my job for the team, for the manager, and for myself. That’s the only thing that matters.
“It would be nice to get more recognition for what you do, but I get the recognition inside the building and that’s most important thing.”
It’s easier said than done, but if Dessers just kept things simple when faced with such big chances, his life would be a lot easier.
Fans aren’t expecting him to score every chance that comes his way, he just needs to start scoring more when his team and manager need him most.
This is the single biggest difference between Rangers and Celtic just now.
Celtic kill teams off. They score the second goal in the first half, not with 10 minutes to go or not at all.
Opposition teams know that Rangers are still vulnerable when there is only one goal in it, which makes games harder than they should be.
If Dessers wants more recognition, he needs more than just good numbers, he needs to be ruthless.
