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Chris Sutton has been left puzzled by Rangers manager Steven Gerrard for leaving senior pair Jermain Defoe and Steven Davis out of the crunch games this season.
Both players made the move to Ibrox in January on loan from Premier League clubs, but neither were included in the starting XI against Celtic in March or the quarter-final of the Scottish Cup against Aberdeen.
Defoe, 36, arrived from Bournemouth to provide back-up for Alfredo Morelos for the rest of the season and the striker has six goals in 15 games.
The centre-forward has seven assists in that time too for the Gers, but didn’t make the cut in crunch games.
Meanwhile, 34-year-old midfielder Davis joined on a temporary basis from Southampton and was another Gerrard overlooked for the Old Firm derby and a cup quarter-final.
“Gerrard was given a right few quid to spend last summer. In January the same with a big wage for Steven Davis and Jermain Defoe, yet he hasn’t picked them in big games,”
TBR’s View:
Gerrard can’t be slated for leaving out either of his loan signings in the big games, as there is a case to suggest they are stronger without them in each position.
But it does perhaps instead raise an argument over whether the club’s recruitment has been right and whether they made the correct additions in the January window.
The Light Blues now find themselves without any silverware this campaign and it seems like a missed opportunity, considering rivals Celtic have definitely had a drop off this year and had to deal with the turmoil of manager Brendan Rodgers leaving mid-season.