This week, Hamilton striker Mickel Miller suggested that his team won’t make it easy for Steven Gerrard’s Rangers on the weekend. These are bold words from a team that haven’t won a game in the Scottish Premiership for six games (Hamilton’s official club website).
And while Miller was likely just trying to rally his team, the warning sign will be welcomed by the Rangers manager. The Light Blues are undefeated in their previous eight matches. The last game they lost was a 2-1 defeat to BSC Young Boys in the Europa League. The next match Rangers played was incidentally against Hamilton. They smashed them 5-0 (transfermarkt.co.uk).
These aren’t the kind of games that Gerrard and his Rangers team want to be playing. A 5-0 victory doesn’t test this Rangers squad. With the majority of the players coming back from the international break, a good challenge against a team that they expect to beat could be exactly what is needed.
Even if Hamilton come out and put in a performance that pushes Rangers, Gerrard’s side are fully capable of winning the match. Hamilton sit 10th in the Scottish Premiership, 45 points behind Rangers (Sky Sports). On paper, Rangers won’t have a problem winning.
Plus, after playing Hamilton, Rangers return to the Europa League where they face Feyenoord in a vital fixture. While Feyenoord are bottom of Group G, they will still pose a reasonable test to Rangers (uefa.com). Gerrard’s team only managed to win 1-0 at Ibrox when the teams met last (transfermarkt.co.uk). A win in this match will put them within touching distance of knockout round football.
A walk in the park against Hamilton could allow complacency to slip into the dressing room. If Miller’s comments are to be believed, Rangers will have to fight for their three points on the weekend. But with the talent that Rangers have at their disposal, that shouldn’t be an issue. A ‘tough’ game against Hamilton should still result in three points for the Ger while adequately preparing the side for their European clash.