James Murray

Sun 8 October 2023 16:11, UK

Steven Davis made some bold decisions as he secured his first victory as the Rangers interim manager against St Mirren on Sunday (8 October).

It’s been an extremely difficult week for the Gers after Michael Beale was sacked following the defeat to Aberdeen on 30 September and they were embarrassed by Aris Limassol in the Europa League on Thursday (5 October).

That meant the pressure was well and truly on for the temporary Light Blues boss to get a tune out of his side to not only steady the ship but also ensure their arch-rivals Celtic didn’t open up a 10-point gap on them.

A James Tavernier double either side of a smart finish from Abdallah Sima ensured that wasn’t to be the case as they returned to Glasgow with all three points following a 3-0 win in Paisley, with Ryan Strain receiving a red card for a handball in the first half for the hosts.

Here are three things learned for the Gers against 10-man St Mirren on Sunday.

Davis made the right decision to trust youth over experience

It was an extremely bold decision by Davis to hand winger Zak Lovelace his first start for Rangers, with Sam Lammers and Cyriel Dessers relegated down to the bench.

The 17-year-old came in on the right-hand side of the forward line and was really bright, looking to pick up the ball and take on his man at every opportunity.

The winger beat Scott Tanser midway through the half after showing great pace before fizzing a fierce ball across the six-yard box that led to Strain being sent off for a blatant handball at the back post and Tavernier scoring from the penalty spot.

The teenager was, unfortunately, forced off the field on 41 minutes when he appeared to suffer a nasty-looking hamstring injury.

Davis could have turned to one of the senior players, but he once again opted for youth, as he handed Ross McCausland another opportunity to impress off the bench.

The 20-year-old had a number of nice touches and played a couple of decent balls into the box, while he also set Dessers through one-on-one with Saints keeper Zach Hemming, who made a comfortable save to deny the Nigerian forward late on.

Tavernier remains the heart and soul of the team

There have been an awful lot of questions asked about Tavernier in recent weeks following the Gers’ unconvincing start to the season.

The 31-year-old hasn’t been great defensively for his side, making a couple of errors, and his position as the club captain means he is always going to be under the microscope.

But he has shown during his eight years with the Light Blues that he does possess more quality than the majority of players that have come through the door at Ibrox during that time.

The right-back’s attacking ability once again came to the fore against St Mirren as he comfortably slotted his penalty past Hemming and scored an exceptional late third to cap off a decent afternoon for his side.

He also played a lovely ball over the top to Nico Raskin to set up Sima for the second goal, showing that he can also create opportunities with his passing prowess from deeper positions.

There will be some who may look at the fact that he is the Gers’ most attacking outlet as a negative, though, as it doesn’t say too much about the forward players in front of him.

Lundstram simply can’t be the answer moving forward

John Lundstram has been a solid player in the middle of the park for Rangers since he signed from Sheffield United two years ago.

But there are signs that his influence in midfield is diminishing and that was there for all to see once again in the victory against the Saints.

Typically an all-action, battling type of player, the 29-year-old won just one of the eight duels he was involved in throughout the afternoon [SofaScore].

He also lost possession for the Light Blues on six occasions and committed a couple of late fouls in his own half that handed the hosts an opportunity to play the ball into the box.

With the only other option to play in that deep-lying midfield position being 31-year-old Ryan Jack, perhaps it’s time for the Gers to try and strengthen in that area of the pitch if the opportunity presents itself in January.

In other Rangers news, an official club partner was left disgusted by what the Gers players did against Aris.