Andy Halliday takes swipe at Sam Lammers after Hearts defeat v Rangers at Hampden Park
Hearts midfielder Andy Halliday has taken a swipe at Sam Lammers following his side’s Viaplay Cup semi-final loss to Rangers on Sunday (5 November).
Lammers has scored just twice in 21 appearances for the Gers since joining from Atalanta in a deal worth an initial £3million [Sky Sports, 16 June].
The Dutchman played well enough in the Gers’ 3-1 win over Hearts at the weekend, but he again failed to register either a goal or an assist at Hampden Park.
Former Rangers player Halliday told Clyde 1 Superscoreboard [6 November]: “I thought he did fine [against Hearts]. I think he has shown some lovely periods of play and some lovely touches but not affected the game enough.
“I think last week was his first goal in 16 appearances. You look at the plethora of chances he has had this season – you could make a YouTube compilation and it would last ten minutes.
“You then see that’s why he’s maybe only scored nine goals in the past four years. With the output of £3.5m that Rangers have paid you’re expecting a pretty hefty goal return by the end of the season but you’d certainly like to think there is more to come from him.”
Shocking return
Lammers had his best game in a Rangers shirt last week when scoring a goal-of-the-season contender and assisting another in the 5-0 Scottish Premiership win over Dundee.
That is looking like a one-off performance, though, as he has gone 17 games either side of the match without a direct goal involvement – a pretty shocking return.
Attacking players are in the side to make a difference, especially for a Gers team that are expected to win every domestic game they play.
The former Netherlands Under-21s international quite simply has not done so, though, and it is surprising that three different managers – Michael Beale, Steven Davis and Philippe Clement – have all opted to select him.
Lammers is clearly doing something right, but his run of starts will surely soon come to an end if he does not start registering more goals and assists.
In other Rangers news, a journalist says he “definitely” expects Clement to strengthen in one position in the January transfer window.