Former Rangers star Lee McCulloch has shot down certain corners of the Ibrox faithful who have been criticising the performance of Umar Sadiq after he made a rare outing in the League Cup defeat to Aberdeen on Sunday.
The Gers saw their hopes of early silverware this season sunk by a goal from Lewis Ferguson at Hampden Park, with 21-year-old loanee Sadiq, who is at Rangers from Roma, leading the line in the absence of Kyle Lafferty and Alfredo Morelos, who were cup tied and suspended respectively.
However, it was an unconvincing display from the striker in his fourth outing for the club, with Gers fans picking him out as a scapegoat, and while McCulloch admits there is a lot to improve on, he insisted that some good could come from the hitman.
He told the Evening Times: “Rangers aren’t the finished article, and Sadiq too is obviously a work in progress.
“He might not be the easiest on the eye and he certainly has to work on the timing of his runs in behind to avoid being caught offside so much, but I saw glimpses from his performance that suggested there may be a player in there somewhere.
“So, I hope that people don’t write him off after one game, particularly as he has hardly seen a lot of game-time. It was a hell of a match to be thrown into, so I’m prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt, and hopefully the fans will too.”
Opinion
McCulloch is obviously a glass half full kind of guy, for there really was not a lot for the Ibrox support to celebrate on Sunday, and Sadiq played his part in that. He might only be a youngster but so is Alfredo Morelos and when you put the pair side by side, they are like chalk and cheese. The Roma loanee might have the physical presence up top but lacks the footballing brain needed to be an efficient and effective target man, and it was clear how much the Light Blues were missing someone who knew what they were doing up top. More game time might see Sadiq learn, develop and improve his performances but Steven Gerrard does not have the time to gamble on him finding his feet at Ibrox. There is success on the line and it is for that reason Morelos and Lafferty will be chosen ahead of the young loanee for the rest of the season. McCulloch is right in saying that fans should not be giving up on him after four outings for the club, but at the same time the player himself has done very little to convince them otherwise.