Danny Rohl has no choice but to persist with Oliver Antman after stunning Rangers reveal
Oliver Antman has had a positive influence at Rangers, even though his goal and assist numbers don’t show it.
Rangers secured a 1-0 win over Hibernian last time out, with Emmanuel Fernandez’s first-half goal proving to be the difference at Ibrox.
The win leaves the Light Blues just three points behind Celtic, and nine points behind Hearts, though Danny Rohl has certainly had a positive influence.
However, a lot of their struggles remain in the forward areas, and if Rohl persists with Antman, he may be able to find the remedy.
Antman second in Scottish Premiership for key metric
Rangers’ summer business was hardly inspiring, with only a handful of positives largely overshadowed by many flops, at least so far.
Antman was one of those brought in, and after he registered 22 goal contributions for Go Ahead Eagles last season, there were high hopes for him.
However, the 24-year-old has managed just two assists for the Gers so far this season, often finding himself on the bench as a result.
The Finland international is out with an injury currently, hence his absence from the win against Hibernian, but upon his return, Rohl simply has to show faith in him.
Via FotMob, Antman averages 2.6 created chances per 90 in the league, which is the second-best of any forward in the Scottish Premiership.
In the league alone, Antman has recorded 1.79 xA (expected assists), showcasing that the main issue lies with the forwards not finishing the chances created by him.
However, that creativity is only going to prevail with consistency, and Rangers need to show faith in the man they brought to Ibrox in the summer.
Russell Martin has high hopes for Antman at Rangers
Russell Martin was a total failure at Rangers in practice, but his way of thinking wasn’t necessarily wrong.
He said a lot of the right things that, since his departure from Glasgow, have been proven right, and the hope will be that it is the case with what he said about Antman at the start of the campaign.
“We are thrilled to bring Oliver to Glasgow,” he said upon Antman’s arrival at Ibrox.
“He is a player we have followed closely, and his versatility and attacking qualities will add a new dimension to our squad. He is hungry to learn, and I look forward to seeing the impact he can have this season and in the future at Rangers.”
The numbers show that the impact is due, and that is now down to Rohl to find out how.
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