Rangers take on League One side Cove Rangers in the Scottish Cup at Ibrox on Sunday and Steven Gerrard should consider handing a start to recent signing Scott Wright.
The 23-year-old, who joined from Aberdeen in the winter, has been limited to just seven substitute appearances for the Light Blues so far in his Rangers career, and he deserves a chance to show what he can do on Sunday.
Cove Rangers have already defeated Forfar Athletic and Championship side Alloa Athletic to seal their place in the third round, so will be eying another upset when they take on Gerrard’s side at Ibrox. However, the 40-year-old manager should still hand opportunities to some of his younger players in the hope that they have enough about them to get past the League One outfit.
Should Wright start on Sunday?
Yes
No
Although we haven’t seen much of Wright in a Rangers shirt thus far, his cameos have been bright and he managed an assist in the 5-2 win against Royal Antwerp, as he was brought down in the penalty area after an impressive run, allowing Cedric Itten to score Rangers’ fifth.
His pace and direct running would likely cause problems for the Cove Rangers defence on Sunday, suggesting that he could prove to be a game-changer for Gerrard; whilst it also gives the manager the opportunity to rest Ryan Kent, who has been a regular on the left wing for the majority of the season.
Despite barely featuring so far, Wright has already earned the praise of Gerrard, with the former Liverpool captain complimentary of his new winger after his debut outing against Hamilton, saying: “Scott’s going to be a good little footballer for us. You can see he’s clever, you can see what he’s going to be.”
Therefore, the £540k-rated 23-year-old deserves a chance to show what he can do for Rangers from the start, and this game against Cove Rangers represents the ideal opportunity for him to make a good impression ahead of next season when he will hopefully be much more involved.
in other news… Gerrard should axe £7.5k-p/w Rangers outcast this summer; he’s nowhere near Champions League level