Rabbi Matondo gives Michael Beale new ‘problem’ at Rangers as BBC pundit ‘shocked’ by what happened vs Greenock Morton
Rabbi Matondo was “really good” in “another fairly average performance from Rangers” in the 2-1 over Greenock Morton, according to Tam McManus.
The BBC pundit reacted on his personal Twitter account to the laboured Scottish League Cup victory at Ibrox on Saturday (19 August), singling out the Gers winger, 22, as giving Michael Beale “a problem for PSV” amid a host of new signings who were “unconvincing”.
The Light Blues came back from a goal down against the lower-league visitors, after Morton took the lead from the spot with a Grant Gillespie penalty that McManus was “shocked” they got, before Cyriel Dessers equalised with a penalty of his own and Danilo scored the winner.
It was the latest in a series of off-colour displays from the new-look Rangers line up under Beale, who has made nine signings this summer in a major overhaul of the squad, but it was last year’s signing from Schalke 04 who stood out to McManus.
The Gers face PSV Eindhoven in the final Champions League qualifying round for the second year in a row, with the first leg in Glasgow on Tuesday (22 August).
Somebody has to
It takes time to integrate a whole host of new players into a team at once so some growing pains were always expected, but while there have been some flashes of quality it is arguably the system the manager is using that isn’t really working.
The likes of Jack Butland and Jose Cifuentes look like they’ve settled in straight away, and Leon Balogun is a known quantity, but there have to be concerns over the start to the campaign now.
Further forward, despite another two goals for big-money signings today, it is very much a work in progress, and with Ryan Kent and Fashion Sakala both gone there feels like a lack of width and pace in the play.
Matondo, who until now would probably be regarded as a transfer flop after the Welsh international missed most of last season with injury, provides both.
So with players around him flattering to deceive he probably won’t get a better opportunity to grasp hold of and really kick-start his Rangers career.
The two-leg PSV tie will have a major bearing on the season and the upcoming transfer windows in terms of Champions League prize money, and it looks like Matondo has done himself no harm in terms putting himself forward to potentially have a say in that.
In other Rangers news, another winger is being targeted before the close of the window as one of two “priorities” for Beale, and it is a familiar name.