Barry Ferguson calls for Rangers attacking trio to be axed by Giovanni van Bronckhorst
Barry Ferguson will be surprised if Malik Tillman, Fashion Sakala and Alfredo Morelos are not all back on the bench for Rangers in their next Scottish Premiership game against Livingston.
All three started against Dundee as the Gers just secured their place in the semi-finals of the League Cup thanks to a Steven Davis goal.
Ferguson was less than impressed with the performance and feels Tillman, Sakala and Morelos are not showing the consistency to remain in Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s starting eleven.
He said (Daily Record, 21 October): “Who else was able to look at himself in the mirror in the dressing room, content that he had left everything out there for the team – and for a boss under mounting pressure?
“Certainly not Malik Tillman, Fashion Sakala or Alfredo Morelos – the three players who probably had more to prove than anyone else given that none of them have been trusted with a regular starting place.
“I like them all. They have different attributes to bring to the team. But none of them is showing any level of consistency or showing they deserve to stay in the team. I’ll be surprised if they’re not all back on the bench this weekend for the visit of Livingston because right now Gio is a manager searching for answers. And all they left him with the other night was more questions.”
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As much as van Bronckhorst will shoulder all of the blame at the moment, these players need to start living up to their reputations. The Dutchman has credit in the bank and has proven he can get these players to perform at the highest level.
Morelos has been a shadow of himself in the 2022/23 season and that could well be down to him still trying to regain full fitness, but he still has to offer more. Dundee was the perfect chance for the Colombian to stake a claim for a starting berth and remind the Rangers boss that he still has something to offer.
Tillman is clearly a talented youngster and has all the attributes to play at a high level, but he is coasting through games at the moment without making any real impact. There are only so many times van Bronckhorst can show trust in a player. The odd moment of brilliance from the 20-year-old isn’t going to cut it.
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