James Tavernier must be axed for Rangers showdown v Celtic
Andy Newport believes Philippe Clement should axe James Tavernier from his Rangers starting XI for their showdown against Celtic in the Scottish League Cup Final on Sunday.
The right-back has found himself in a purple patch of form recently and has bagged himself a couple of goals against Kilmarnock and Ross County.
However, with Dujon Sterling ready to be entrusted to start by his manager after his recent injury, Newport believes the former Chelsea man would be the better option to face Daizen Maeda.
“I think if he sends out James Tavernier to face Daizen Maeda and he does to James Tavernier what he’s been doing to him of late then Philippe Clement will have nowhere to hide,” he said on the Daily Record’s Hotline Live (8 December).
“I would start Dujon Sterling there because he has to change something on that front because Daizen Maeda has James Tavernier’s number.”
Rangers need to drop James Tavernier for the Scottish League Cup final
While Tavernier may have got himself on the scoresheet over the last couple of games and refound the form he showed a couple of seasons ago, there are rightfully still some question marks.
In the last Old Firm Derby back in September, Maeda was running around like a Duracell bunny, and it felt like Tavernier had no idea how to handle the Japanese international.
It felt like the beginning of the end of his time as a Rangers starter but somewhat surprisingly, he’s shown up for the Ibrox outfit over their last couple of games.
Of course, they have only been against the likes of Kilmarnock and Ross County but it felt nice to see flashes of Tavernier from the past when he was deemed one of the most important players at Ibrox.
Only time will tell whether Clement sticks by his captain but if he does and things don’t work out, it could end up being curtains for the Belgian, despite the fact he may have found his saviour in Hamza Igamane.
In other Rangers news, Chris Jack has mooted the Gers to make some moves in the January transfer window.
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