Kris Boyd baffled by what Danny Rohl’s done to Ryan Naderi already at Rangers
Kris Boyd has backed new signing Ryan Naderi to start against Hearts but has raised concerns about Rangers’ attack.
Rangers signed the German striker from Hansa Rostock for £4.7million on 2 February but he is yet to start for the Gers in the Scottish Premiership.
Danny Rohl handed the 22-year-old a chance to shine in the Scottish Cup as the Ibrox side thumped Queen’s Park 8-0, as Naderi bagged a brace.
The 6ft 4in forward came off the bench in Rangers’ 1-1 draw with Motherwell on Wednesday in a game where they lost ground in the Scottish Premiership to leaders Hearts.
After Youssef Chermiti missed some big chances in attack against Motherwell, Boyd has backed Naderi to lead Rangers’ attack on Sunday against Hearts. But he thinks the current crop of forwards need to be far more clinical.
- Read more: Youssef Chermiti has been torn to shreds – and it will be music to Ryan Naderi’s ears at Rangers
Kris Boyd questions ‘hunger’ of Rangers star
Chermiti swapped Everton for Rangers in a £8m deal last summer and since then he has scored four goals in 28 appearances in all competitions. He has, arguably, not lived up to his sizeable price tag, which may have prompted Rangers to sign Naderi in the winter transfer window.
Ahead of their huge top of the table clash at home to Hearts on Sunday, ex-Gers man Boyd has questioned whether his old club’s forward line works on their “finishing” enough.
Club legend Ally McCoist was singled out as a player who “obsessed” over scoring goals and Boyd thinks Chermiti, in particular, doesn’t have that same “hunger”.
He wrote in his SunSport column: “Rangers pushed the boat out to sign Ryan Naderi on deadline day and you’d imagine he gets the nod over Youssef Chermiti. You hear a lot about all the work done on set-pieces under Danny Rohl and Scott Fry.
“But I ask this, ‘Does anybody actually bother to work on the strikers’ finishing?’. Chermiti’s miss against Well when Rangers were 1-0 up was such a crucial moment. It was the finish of a player who doesn’t obsess over scoring goals the way a proper Ibrox No 9 should.
“All Ally McCoist wanted to do was score goals and he would work on it every day in training. When you repeat something often enough, it becomes second nature. I was the same when I played for Rangers.
“Scoring was an obsession, and I wonder if guys like Chermiti have that same hunger. Whether it’s the £8million man, Naderi or Bojan Miovski leading the line, Rangers need to be far more clinical.”
In the Motherwell game, Rangers had an Expected Goals tally of 1.36, registered 10 shots on goal, but just four of those were on target.
The hosts, on the other hand, had an xG of 1.39, and had five shots on target from their 199 attempts on goal. So while they weren’t that wasteful in front of goal, they may need to be more clinical if they want to win the league and overhaul Hearts.
But the fact that they were 1-0 up and Motherwell went down to 10 men before equalising will be a cause for concern for Rohl.
Rangers face crucial Scottish Premiership title clash as Naderi awaits his chance
Hearts’ win over Hibernian and Rangers’ draw at Motherwell saw their gap at the top lengthen to five points after 26 games.
Third-placed Celtic also won last time out, closing to within one point of Rangers, plus, the Bhoys have a game in hand.
If they want to win their first league title since 2021, Rangers realistically have to beat Hearts on Sunday at Ibrox.
Naderi has looked bright in a Rangers shirt so far, and perhaps Rohl will look to the big German to deliver the goods against this season’s surprise package.
A win will take them within three points of Hearts but a defeat would mean that Rangers would have to win three more games than the league leaders to usurp them down the stretch.
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