Ibrox View: Steven Davis must improve on poor international display in next Rangers outing
Rangers are blessed with good strength in depth in the centre of midfield this season.
Alongside Ryan Jack, the Gers can also turn to Glen Kamara, Joe Aribo, Scott Arfield, and veteran option Steven Davis.
All five of those players are senior internationals, and Jack, Kamara, and Davis have all been in action this week for their respective countries – but it’s fair to say that the latter in particular had a night to forget over the weekend.
Davis featured in Northern Ireland’s 1-1 draw against Romania on Friday, and he hardly covered himself in glory.
The 35-year-old had a total action success rate of 56%, 24.3% lower than his season average, as per Wyscout.
If we examine that stat in more detail, it highlights some uncharacteristic weaknesses in Davis’ game.
For example, his passing accuracy was 21.8% lower than usual, coming in at just 69%.
If we look at Davis’ pass map we can see that he only attempted 26 passes, with eight going astray.
As a point of comparison, this was Davis’ pass map against Hamilton in his last outing for Rangers.
The midfielder made 100 passes, completing 95 of them.
Whether his lack of opportunities on the ball was a result of a lacklustre team performance or an uninspired individual display is a matter of debate, but certainly, his lack of accuracy has to be something that he is culpable for.
We see a similarly disappointing set of figures when we look at Davis’ ball recoveries against Romania.
Davis regained possession just three times on Friday, with one intervention in the opposition’s half.
Again, that is less than one third of his season’s average, and a huge drop-off from the 15 he made against the Accies.
That lack of presence in the centre of the park didn’t cost his side too dearly, with Northern Ireland still picking up a 1-1 draw, but it is something that the Gers can ill-afford to have in their line-up as they push for a title bid.
Of course, everybody has bad days at the office, and it would be excessive to slander Davis too much for a single poor performance.
But at the same time, he has to pick up his quality of output when he returns to Glasgow – partially for the good of the team and partially so he doesn’t lose his starting spot in the face of such fierce competition for places.
In other Rangers news, Frank McAvennie claims Alfredo Morelos could upset the Ibrox dressing room if he stays.