Exclusive: McLeish suggests return of Defoe and Itten could solve ‘major’ problem for Rangers
We’re delighted to welcome former Rangers manager Alex McLeish as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Ibrox…
Alex McLeish has claimed that having Cedric Itten and Jermain Defoe back from injury could solve a “major” problem for Rangers this season.
Speaking exclusively to Ibrox News, the former Gers boss suggested that his old club have lacked strength in depth in attacking areas at key points in previous campaigns.
Steven Gerrard confirmed on Friday that both Defoe and new signing Itten have returned to full training after recent spells on the sidelines.
And McLeish believes that will be a welcome boost for the Glaswegian giants.
Speaking to Ibrox News, he said: “It’s something they’ve lacked in the past couple of years, and I think it’s something that may have hampered their run-in when they came back from the winter break two seasons in a row.
“I believe that it was one of the major problems, in terms of the rotation of strikers, hungry strikers, coming in and saying ‘the manager’s given me a chance, I’m going to show what I can do’.
“Steven, at times, was having to play midfielders further forward.
“It’ll be a bonus to have those two players back in the squad.”
Defoe has proven to be a big hit for Rangers since signing from Bournemouth last year, registering 25 games in 52 outings.
Itten has still yet to open his account for his new club, but did feature in all of the Gers’ first four Scottish Premiership matches.
In other Rangers news, Exclusive: Alex McLeish claims Rangers boss Gerrard needs to win a trophy this season.