Former Rangers star and regular Sky Sports pundit Lee McCulloch has delivered a rave review on the performances of fringe Ibrox figures Glenn Middleton and Eros Grezda after they came in to help the Gers to a 7-1 thrashing of Motherwell.
The Light Blues went into the international break with the perfect performance under their belt with both the former Norwich and Osijek wingers finding their way onto the scoresheet, the latter netting a brace.
Speaking about how Rangers’ squad depth will be crucial in their push for the title, McCulloch, a regular face on Sky Sports when discussing Scottish football, stated that what he saw from the wide men was hugely impressive and that his old side look set to have enough in the tank to launch a bid for glory.
He told the Evening Times: “To score seven goals – and it could have been more – will be really pleasing for Steven Gerrard.
“On an afternoon of huge positives, another pleasing factor was the strength in depth of the squad that was being showcased, with Eros Grezda getting off the mark and Glenn Middleton showing yet again that he can really add something to this Rangers team from the left-hand side. (To) make such impressive contributions bodes well for what will be a hectic period.
“It will be vital that the Rangers side isn’t significantly weakened when manager Gerrard has to turn to his back-up players if they are to keep pace at the top of the division. Make no mistake, Rangers are right in that mix.
“It may well be that whoever can best weather this heavy fixture schedule over the next seven or eight weeks will be the ones to go on and take an important advantage into the second half of the season. It looks to me as if Rangers are equipped to do just that.”
Opinion
McCulloch, having been there and done that at Ibrox, knows exactly how much is needed from the players to push on to try and win a Premiership title, and that quality in depth can prove to be the difference come the end of the season. It seems as though Steven Gerrard has equipped himself well with the amount of talent bubbling under the surface of the first team, and if the fringe stars can continue to perform in such a rich vein of form for the rest of the campaign, it bodes well for the Gers. Still, toppling Celtic at the top of the tree is no easy feat and it will require more than just a couple of players to fill the void occasionally. It needs those starting week in, week out to put in the very best performances possible, for any sort of a slip up is only going to end in disappointment. Rangers are still in this title race, but letting their standards drop will see their hopes ended in the blink of an eye.