Doug Ward

Sun 20 December 2020 17:10, UK

BBC Sportscene pundit James McFadden slammed Borna Barisic for not doing enough to stop Motherwell taking the lead against Rangers on Saturday.

While it was a collective piece of poor defending by the Gers, Barisic was heavily criticised by McFadden and sections of supporters for not closing down Stephen O’Donnell quickly enough.

O’Donnell’s cross was met by Callum Lang at the back post to put Motherwell ahead but luckily, a late resurgence by the Gers saw them win all three points and preserve their unbeaten run in the league.

When asked if he was surprised by Motherwell’s lead, McFadden told BBC Sportscene: “Not really surprised because Motherwell have players who can cause problems.

“Motherwell keep it alive and when it works back out to Stephen O’Donnell, Goldson and Helander have switched sides but they need to drop in a straight line.

“Barisic, for me, doesn’t do enough to stop the cross and James Tavernier leaves Callum Lang all at the back. They’re all ball-watching, nobody reacts.”

McFadden not wrong

Rangers have prided themselves on their defensive record this season but in the last week, they have started to look more and more suspect at the back.

It hasn’t helped that Steven Gerrard has chopped and changed a couple of players recently with Calvin Bassey and Filip Helander both playing in the last couple of games.

Leon Balogun’s injury hasn’t helped but hopefully he’ll be back soon and as soon as he is, Gerrard should go back to Balogun and Goldson in the middle of his defence and aim for more consistency.

Obviously, Gerrard wants to rest his key players in certain matches but when you do that, you risk a loss of momentum.

We think that could be what has happened while missing Ryan Jack from the midfield is also starting to taking a toll a bit as the Scotland international does a great job of limiting what opposing sides can do against the Gers’ defence.

In other Rangers news, the Gers are set for a seven-figure windfall.