Danny Rohl must be worried by Emmanuel Fernandez latest ahead of Rangers vs Hibernian
Emmanuel Fernandez will once again start in defence for Rangers against Hibernian as their injury crisis continues at the back.
Fernandez’s £3.5million move to Rangers from Peterborough raised several eyebrows in the summer, and it’s safe to say he hasn’t lived up to expectations under both Russell Martin and Danny Rohl.
In Rangers’ 2-1 loss to Ferencvaros on Thursday, the 24-year-old was slammed for allowing Barnabas Varga to head home unmarked from six yards out.
As the cross came in, Fernandez kept his eyes solely on the ball and lost track of Varga, who peeled off the back of him and ended up facing in the opposite direction.
Hibs will provide him with a very different test as he looks set to face the electrifying pace of experienced striker Martin Boyle on 15 December.
Martin Boyle’s pace could destroy Emmanuel Fernandez
Injuries to John Souttar and Derek Cornelius have left Rohl needing to rely on Fernandez and Nasser Djiga, two players who have come under intense criticism in Govan.
Souttar has been offered a new contract recently, although the Scotland international is out for the next few weeks.
With Djiga going off to AFCON after the Hibs game, a lot of responsibility will be placed on Fernandez over the Christmas period.
Boyle may be 32 years old, but he has shown that he can be incredibly quick when racing through on goal, especially with the physical Kieron Bowie alongside him.
| Appearances | 386 |
| Goals | 106 |
| Assists | 53 |
Speaking on the Go Radio Football Show Podcast on 12 December, former Dundee manager James McPake looked ahead to Monday’s game and highlighted the problems Boyle may cause the Bears.
He said: “Souttar is not back and I’m worried about that defence. The pace Boyle has and the threat Hibs can cause means I think the match will end in a draw.”
In Rangers’ 2-2 draw to Dundee United on 3 December, Fernandez was completely outpaced by winger Zachary Sapsford for the first goal, failing to use his body to put him off the shot.
Despite his strengths in attacking set pieces at both sides, he has several weaknesses, and his speed is certainly one of them.
Rangers can’t afford to lose more ground on league leaders Hearts, and Boyle is one of the men who could derail their faint title hopes.
How can Rangers tighten up at the back?
It’s an age-old question that seems to be asked every single week, but Rohl still hasn’t been able to plug those defensive gaps.
The manner of the goals being conceded is a huge worry, and games against Hearts and Celtic in the upcoming weeks could expose their issues even more.
With the Light Blues virtually out of the Europa League, the Scottish Premiership and the Scottish Cup are the only two competitions in which Rohl’s side is still fighting.
The bottom line is that Fernandez is among a group of defenders who aren’t good enough, and if Rangers were to sit deeper and play more direct, counter-attacking football in the short term, they could reap the rewards in the long term.
Otherwise, this could end up being one of the worst seasons in Rangers’ history.
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