OPINION
Steven Gerrard has publicly criticised on-loan striker Umar Sadiq for the second time in his pre-match press conference today, and it suggests that he won’t be seen in a Rangers shirt again.
Sadiq joined on loan from Roma over the summer but after making just three cameo appearances for his new club, the striker has been demoted to the reserves.
Earlier in the week Gerrard had said that Sadiq would need to improve an “awful lot” to be considered for the Scottish Cup semi-final at the end of October.
And he was in no mood to soften the blow on Friday.
In today’s press conference he was asked what Sadiq needed to improve and Gerrard simply replied, “Everything”.
Steven Gerrard says he’s ‘delighted’ Rangers will play first at Hampden on League Cup semi-final Sunday and describes it as a ‘bonus’.
When asked what Umar Sadiq needs to improve on – he answered ‘everything’. pic.twitter.com/yrYxmzYTIV
— Clyde 1 Superscoreboard (@ClydeSSB) September 28, 2018
Managers rarely criticise struggling players in public, especially young players who are on loan.
That suggests a real problem with Sadiq that possibly goes beyond his form on the pitch.
It suggests his attitude is all wrong too and we would be amazed if he plays for the first-team again.
It seems way more likely that he’ll be returning to Roma in January with a big blot on his CV.