Pundit stunned as Rangers star Jose Cifuentes vanishes at Ibrox, ‘he’s disappeared’
Gordon Dalziel has been left stunned after Jose Cifuentes has vanished at Rangers since the arrival of Philippe Clement.
Speaking on the Clyde 1 Superscoreboard YouTube channel on Tuesday (31 October), the pundit said he was surprised that the Ecuadorian international hasn’t kicked on at Ibrox following his move from Los Angeles FC.
He added that the 24-year-old midfielder has “disappeared” after he appears to have “dropped down” the pecking order in recent weeks.
“I’m a bit surprised, I thought he would’ve kicked on,” said Dalziel. “I thought he was going to be one of those successes. Early doors the fans really took to him. I think everybody was really looking forward to what he was going to bring in that midfield when everybody was fit, but he’s disappeared.
“Sometimes a new manager will come in and assess players over the first couple of weeks and start looking at the pecking order, and he seems to have dropped down that.”
Will get a chance
It is a bit strange that Cifuentes appears to have dramatically dropped down the pecking order since Clement arrived at Rangers just over a couple of weeks ago.
The midfielder was highly thought of when he made the move from LA FC, but he’s been a little bit inconsistent in a Light Blues shirt so far this season.
Although he has yet to play a single minute under the new boss in his opening three games in charge, he should get a chance before too long due to the number of matches there are coming up over the next few weeks.
Given the dramatic change in lifestyle and standard of football, the Ecuadorian will perhaps be afforded more of a chance to adapt at Ibrox than some of the other summer recruits.
He probably just needs to continue working hard behind the scenes and be ready once his opportunity in the side comes around again.
In other Rangers news, Clement has revealed if Danilo will be ready to start against Dundee.