How McCoist’s indecision has left Ranger’s with a debilitating lack of balance:

While the summer transfer window was often frustrating for Rangers, one thing they did get right was to re-sign key players to new contracts.  Allan McGregor, Steven Whittaker and Steve Davis all got long-term extensions to their deals, committing themselves to Rangers while also ensuring that any transfer fees the club received for those players would be significant.

But while those players had earned their new deals, another Rangers player who had become a key part of the team, Sasa Papac, only received a one year extension to his contract.  Having joined Rangers during the ill-fated Paul Le Guen era, Papac had gone from being a disappointing signing as a centreback to a consistently good performer as a leftback.  Rarely missing games, Papac has become something of a cult hero in the eyes of Rangers fans, with that status cemented after he scored a penalty during the UEFA Cup semi-final shootout against Fiorentina.

Although he is now 31, it seemed that Papac deserved a longer deal, although he has subsequently announced his desire to return to Bosnia when his contract expires at the end of the season.  And Rangers seemed to have signed his long-term replacement in the summer, spending £1.5million to sign Scotland international Lee Wallace from Hearts.  While Papac missed games in August suffering from pneumonia, it looked like Wallace would establish himself as the new Rangers leftback. 

But recently, manager Ally McCoist has taken to playing Wallace and Papac in the same team, with Papac playing leftback, while Wallace plays left midfield.  What is unclear is why McCoist thinks this is a good idea.  Wallace has been good enough at leftback for Hearts to have won Scotland caps in the past, and has looked comfortable there for Rangers too.  He lacks the pace or skill required to play left midfield, and his selection there keeps a natural wideman Gregg Wylde out of the team (although Wylde himself played leftback as a youth for Rangers). 

At the start of the season, Rangers also had the option of playing John Fleck on the left, but he has joined Blackpool on loan until the end of the season.  Matt McKay, another summer signing, has played at left midfield for Brisbane Roar in Australia too, but seems to have been frozen out by McCoist, despite rarely getting a chance to show what he can do in competitive matches.  The manager could even turn to Salim Kerkar, another player who has become a cult figure at Ibrox, but more because he has rarely been seen on the pitch, despite showing flashes of ability with limited game time.

Whatever McCoist’s thinking is, it is something that has to stop.  Rangers have enough problems to contend with without the manager selecting players out of position.  Gregg Wylde is young, and like all young wingers, regardless of how good they may be or might become, he is inconsistent.  But he does have plenty of pace, and has a handful of assists this season without holding down a regular place in the starting XI.  With Rangers striking options down to David Healy, Kyle Lafferty (when he recovers from injury) and untested young players Kane Hemmings and Andy Little, McCoist HAS to play with width, and make sure the team is creating plenty of chances.  None of the strikers currently at the club have particularly impressive goal-scoring records, so Rangers need to have creativity in midfield.

Lee Wallace has enough ability to be first choice at leftback for Rangers for the rest of his career, but he will never be a good left midfielder.  The selection of Papac and Wallace in the same starting line-up for Rangers is something that should only be a reality during an injury crisis.  There are better options for McCoist than playing both Papac and Wallace at the same time. 

McCoist has to decide which of his two leftbacks should be first choice and stick with it.  It may not be the biggest problem Rangers face in the near future, with an HMRC tax case looming large and the threat of administration should the outcome not go Rangers way, as well as questions over Craig Whyte’s long-term strategy for the club, but on the pitch Rangers can still win the SPL title.  But if they are to do so, one of the changes Ally McCoist must make is in left midfield.

For more blogs, follow me on Twitter @DavidWDougan and @TheGlassCase

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