OPINION
Rangers forward Greg Stewart has “gone off the boil” since moving to Ibrox, according to Alan Hutton.
The 29-year-old joined the Gers over the summer, but has struggled to make a substantial impact at Ibrox since completing the switch.
Thus far, Stewart has yet to score in seven appearances for Steven Gerrard’s men, and Hutton has taken a sympathetic view of his situation.
Speaking to Football Insider, he said: “When he went to Kilmarnock, he was brilliant. He done so well, him and [Eamonn] Brophy played up front, played off each other really well and were great together.
“Ever since then he’s kind of gone off the boil a little. He obviously knew he was signing with Rangers, he’s come in and look, Rangers are a massive club. They’ve got a lot of players and you really have to hit the ground running when you’re there.
“You look at some of the attacking players they’ve got and the way they play, if you’re not on top of your game you won’t play. I think it’s been really difficult for him actually.”
Looking at the stats, you can certainly make an argument for Hutton’s point.
Comparing Stewart’s form this season to how he performed during his two loan spells at Aberdeen and Kilmarnock last term, you can see that he has dropped off a bit of a cliff.
For instance, this term, the forward has a shot accuracy of 22.2%, a successful dribble rate of 37.5%, and a crossing accuracy of 0%, as per Wyscout.
By contrast, last term he was averaging 27% shots on target, 54.5% successful dribbles, and a cross accuracy rate of 37.7%, as per Wyscout.
Evidently, Stewart can go up another level or two, but with Jermain Defoe and Alfredo Morelos having hit 20 goals between them already this season, it’s not immediately obvious as to where regular first team opportunities are going to come from.
Hutton’s comments are bang on the money though, and the hope will be that Stewart can recapture some of his magic as the campaign progresses.