Chris Jack shares Rangers admission as expectations lowered for Jose Cifuentes
The expectations from Rangers fans are set to be lowered for new midfielder Jose Cifuentes, according to Chris Jack.
Writing on the Rangers Review website on 12 September, the journalist said the Ecuadorian international will be given some “leeway” from the Gers fans as the 24-year-old has “gone through the biggest change” of the summer arrivals following his move from Los Angeles FC.
But he believes there is “plenty of room for improvement” for Dujon Sterling, Kieran Dowell and Abdallah Sima as Jack Butland has been by far the best of the new signings.
“The standout signing from this summer has been the one that always seemed destined to handle the Rangers experience,” he said.
“Jack Butland leads the way when it comes to assessing those that Beale has brought on board. For the likes of Dujon Sterling, Kieran Dowell and Abdallah Sima, there is plenty of room for improvement with game time limited to date.
“The other arrival, Ecuadorian midfielder Jose Cifuentes, will be given some leeway from the support. Out of all of the new faces, it is he who has gone through the biggest change to make the move here.”
Patience
There may be a little bit of patience needed with regards to Cifuentes, as Jack points out that he has undergone quite a big change in making the move to Rangers.
The switch to Scotland will mean it’s a completely different climate for the midfielder to adapt to and perhaps a step up in quality with regards to playing in the European competitions.
He has so far shown glimpses of what he can offer, but he really struggled in the game against PSV when there was a dramatic difference in tempo from the SPFL matches.
The Ecuadorian certainly isn’t alone in struggling to adapt to life at Ibrox, though, after several of the new recruits have largely underwhelmed in the opening weeks of the season.
While Cifuentes will be given more time to adapt before facing too much criticism, the expectation will pick up as the campaign goes on as he looks to find the form he showed while playing in the MLS.
In other Rangers news, a journalist has revealed there has been a fallout of “epic proportions” behind the scenes at Ibrox.