Cercle Brugge captain Hannes Van der Bruggen urges Rangers fans not to ‘give up’ on Rabbi Matondo
Cercle Brugge captain Hannes Van der Bruggen has urged Rangers fans to be patient with young attacker Rabbi Matondo.
The 22-year-old has failed to impress supporters since his summer transfer from Schalke, with the winger yet to score for the Gers.
But Van der Bruggen, who played with Matondo at Belgian club Cercle Brugge last season, believes the winger can go on to shine at Ibrox.
“I genuinely thought Rabbi would do well with Rangers,” Van der Bruggen told the Daily Record. “I saw the game where he played against Union Saint-Gilloise in the Champions League qualifiers.
“I know he’s had a difficult time since then but I was pleased to hear he did well at the weekend. I truly believe in him and I still think he can be important for Rangers.
“I know it’s a bigger club than Cercle, they play Champions League and there’s much more pressure in Glasgow. But as a message to the fans of Rangers I’d say don’t give up on him. Believe in this kid’s qualities because he’s still young, he can develop and be important for Rangers.”
Time to shine
As Van der Bruggen, the pressure is immense at Ibrox, with Rangers supporters not letting their players drop their standards in their constant battle with rivals Celtic.
Matondo is undoubtedly in that category after failing to score in any of his 22 Rangers matches so far, although a recent injury lay-off has not helped his cause.
Still, in his initial games, there wasn’t much to impress supporters, who were expecting big things from the Manchester City youth product.
Matondo did, however, show what he is all about upon his return to the pitch against St Mirren on Saturday (15 April), with the youngster making an instant impact off the bench.
The winger was introduced just after the hour mark at Ibrox and set up Alfredo Morelos’s second goal of the game with an inch-perfect pass.
So there is clearly potential for Matondo to shine in Glasgow, but he will need to show it sooner rather than later.
In other Rangers news, Michael Stewart feels that one Gers player is showing signs of progress at a crucial time for the club, as stated on BBC Scotland Sportscene.