Philippe Clement could unleash Ross McCausland v Sparta Prague after Ibrox news
Philippe Clement has had the perfect start to life with Rangers, winning his first game in front of the Ibrox crowd comfortably against Hibernian.
But there is little time for the Belgian manager to rest, with the fixtures coming thick and fast, the Light Blues are back in Europa League action on Thursday (26 October) when they travel to the Czech Republic to face Sparta Prague.
The former Monaco boss is unlikely to ring the changes following the 4-0 win over Hibs, but he could potentially unleash young talent Ross McCausland for his first Rangers start after news broke that the 20-year-old was set to be offered a new deal at Ibrox [Fabrizio Romano, 19 October].
McCausland was a late substitute in Clement’s first game, replacing Sam Lammers in the final nine minutes of the match and although he saw little of the ball he showed his creative ability, completing six of his eight attempted passes, with two balls being into the final third [Fotmob].
Against St Mirren before the October international break, the 20-year-old played 49 minutes as he was a first-half substitute following Zak Lovelace’s injury and no player created more chances than McCausland who laid three opportunities on for his teammates.
While an away trip to Prague will not be an easy test for the young attacker, a European game away from home may suit the winger’s skillset and he could provide Clement’s side with the burst of pace that they occasionally lack in attack.
Former Ibrox defender Nigel Spackman believes that the Belgian manager will be looking to add some pace to his squad, especially for Europa League matches where teams are forced to defend deeper [Daily Record, 24 October] and while Clement is unable to buy new player, McCausland could provide a quick fix.
The winger has shown that he can contribute from the bench in his limited opportunities so far at Ibrox this year and although it would be a brave decision by the new Ibrox manager to throw a 20-year-old in the deep end, it could solve the Gers’ problems.
Clement has been appointed to attempt to recover what has been a dreadful start to the campaign under Michael Beale and to do that he is going to have to experiment to try and find a way to get this Rangers team playing to the best of their abilities.
McCausland is as worthy as any other player currently at Ibrox of starting on Thursday and given Scott Wright’s quiet afternoon against Hibs it could make sense for the academy product to start from the right wing.
In other Rangers news, the Ibrox club want £5 million or more to sell Jack Butland to Birmingham City in January