Journalist Scott McDermott has given his thoughts on Fashion Sakala ahead of Rangers’ game with Brondby.
The Zambian international has found playing time something of a struggle to come by this season at Ibrox, playing just over 500 minutes in all competitions and only making three starts for Steven Gerrard in the league.
However, he made very good use of his limited time in Rangers’ last game, as he bagged three goals in their 6-1 win over Motherwell this past weekend. And speaking on the Record Rangers podcast, McDermott felt that the 24-year-old should be allowed to keep his place for their Europa League tie against Brondby this Thursday, noting that he would find it very surprising to see him dropped after his last performance:
“I’d be amazed if he didn’t [start]. He must be on the ultimate high just now. You saw him walking off the pitch at the end. How deflating would it be for the player, apart from anybody else, if he’s then told on Thursday after a hat trick ‘you’re back out the team’?
“I think they need about a continuity now and a bit of consistency in selection.”
TIF Thoughts on Scott McDermott’s comments about Fashion Sakala at Rangers…
Will Rangers win the Scottish Premiership again this season?
Yes
No
Given how important the game is for Rangers, as they currently sit in third place at the midway point of the group stages and risk being demoted to the Europa Conference League at best, it is important that they give themselves the best possible chance to win.
And as McDermott hints at, Sakala must be feeling on top of the world right now following his performance against Motherwell, so it would be weird to change a winning formula, as it were.
Not only could it have an impact on that game, but it could also have an impact on the player going forward, because if he can’t stay in the team after he puts in a performance like that, then it might make him start to wonder what he is going to have to do to get into the team on a more regular basis.
So Sakala should be allowed to start against the Danish side on Thursday, and hopefully he’ll be able to put in another performance to make Gerrard take a bit more notice of him moving forward.
In other news: “Steven will want” – Exclusive: Pundit drops verdict on Gerrard’s Rangers future amid NUFC link