Editorials

Hamza Igamane has been the face of Rangers side on the mend despite some testing results in recent weeks, his second half cameo against Motherwell producing two goals reminiscent of forwards of old. The Moroccan embodies the return of grit and steel to the position of striker at Ibrox, a role occupied by distinguished figures in the club’s recent history. However with eight games left to play in January alone, including Hibernian on Sunday, Philippe Clement faces one of his biggest tests in management. The Rangers boss was widely mocked for his decision to bench Igamane and Vaclav Cerny against Motherwell on the back of advice from the sports science department. Yet as he chases the Europa League, Scottish Cup and arch rivals Celtic in the league, he will be depending on the 22 year old to the point of potential injury or, risk his own future at the club should alternatives fail to deliver. In good company Far from earning their acclaim as false nines, striker’s have made names for themselves at Ibrox through tenacity and a relentless pursuit of goals. As a new year rolls on, the classic centre forward of days gone by remains just as adored now as it was then. Through the seasons, there have been those who have earned that kind of legendary status by delivering on a long term basis, à la Kris Boyd who finished four of his five seasons with Rangers as the league’s top scorer. Igamane is a long way from that and it is more than likely he will be off long before Boyd’s five years, let alone Ally McCoist’s fifteen, with rumours already swirling that he has attracted interested from clubs in England. Yet others have left their mark in far less time at Glasgow side. Nikica Jelavic spent just a year and a half at the club but has remained a firm favourite amongst fans ever since. Helped in no small part by his contributions to driving the side to a league title and a winner against Celtic in the League Cup to make it a double in 2011. Always looking a cut above, he terrorised defenders with 30 goals in just 45 games but eventually the lure of the Premier League proved too strong, making his way to Everton in January 2012. Despite the short stint, Jelavic is always a welcomed addition to the club’s ‘Legends’ games over a decade since leaving. It is too early to say if Igamane will have the same impact of the Croatian or his strike partner in 2010-11, Kenny Miller, who managed an eye watering 21 goals in 18 games to win his third consecutive title at the club during his second of three spells with Rangers. However with seven goals in ten games, including a double against Nice and a leveller against Tottenham, he seems to be on the right track. Considering Igamane had managed just one in the eleven prior, it shows a remarkable improvement from a player who didn’t immediately hit the ground running as the aforementioned players did. A lack of mental fortitude has been the stick with which this Rangers squad have been beaten as candidates up front struggled to replicate the steel of the last striker to etch his name into folklore. Fiery boots to fill Alfredo Morelos is as much loved at Ibrox as he is hated by fans from every club he has faced. Seemingly as likely to score as he was to be sent off, the Colombian did not have the goal return of those before him but his win at all costs attitude propelled Rangers to a first Premiership title in a decade to stop Celtic winning the coveted ‘ten in a row’. His time at the club ended on a slightly sour note, Morelos took every opportunity to express a desire to move away from the club as his contract ran down but Rangers have since struggled desperately to replicate his impact. Following his exit, a flurry of players auditioned for the part of ‘Ibrox hero number nine’ but none quite fit the bill. Kemer Roofe had his moments but his time in Glasgow was blighted by injuries as he was never able to be relied on during his four years at the club. Three time Croatian international Antonio Colak’s star burned bright albeit briefly. An impressive 13 goals in 17 games was as good as it got before fading with niggles of his own and poor form. Michael Beale arrived and sent the frontman packing to Parma after just one season in favour of Danilo and Cyriel Dessers. The club are only just starting to see some return on their investment in the Brazilian and the much maligned Dessers has never felt the love from fans and his time at the club seems to be coming to an end. Despite 22 goals in all competitions last season, which is no bad return, the striker’s perpetual habit of missing clear cut chances has not helped the fact that he does not fit the moult of the classic centre forward Rangers supporters have come to expect. The question now is whether the ever growing weight of expectation will prove too heavy for the young man. A New Hope Igamane was not even included in the first three league squads of the campaign but just a few months on Clement would struggle to name a starting line-up without him. Dessers was given a rare start against Motherwell in the last game of 2024 but had little to celebrate going into the new year as he was hauled off at the break and Igamane was tasked with salvaging something from the wreckage. Two goals and a point that prevented a second consecutive defeat for the side highlights a growing dependency that has been compounded by the demand from fans to kickstart a run of wins off the back of their performance at Celtic. Games against Manchester United and Union Saint-Gilloise in

Like a solar eclipse, Danilo’s emergence into public consciousness seems to come around every six months. Unfortunately, just as predictable as the celestial alignment is his immediate return to the treatment room. It is fair to say that the Brazilian has had a torrid time since he arrived as part of Michael Beale’s short lived revolution in a deal said to have been worth up to £6 million. A broken only ten games in, followed by a repeated a long term knee injury means the striker has played only played twenty-five games since signing and been ruled for over double that. After a first start in August against St. Johnstone, his first since December last year, Danilo was beset by yet another setback. Now, once again playing his way back into fitness and with a fixture list that sees Rangers play eight games in December alone, Philippe Clement may have no choice but to give the player another opportunity. Under Beale, Danilo would have found himself paired with Cyriel Dessers or Kemar Roofe but it is clear that Clement will be making no such tactical concessions. Instead, he will be competing with Dessers and summer signing Hamza Igamane for the single berth up front. Luckily for the Ajax academy graduate, this might not be as difficult a proposition as first thought. A hamstrung strike-force The striker’s chance to establish himself in the coming weeks has been made significantly easier by the uninspired performances of his competitors. Dessers has hardly been barren in front of goal, with an average of one every two games but his profligacy and Rangers’ poor form have meant he has also yet to feel the love from Ibrox supporters. Notwithstanding the 6-0 demolition of Ross County, the side have only managed score ten goals in their other ten games. With a seven game goalless run the in the Premiership which only ended in their last outing against Hearts, Dessers has shouldered much of the blame. Igamane, the man whose job it is to provide some competition for Dessers has been unable to convince Clement that he deserves more than a place on the bench, if that. The twenty two year old has managed just one goal all season, grabbing the fourth against FSCB in a comfortable European outing. Restricted to only 252 minutes to make an impression this season, it is difficult to give a thorough assessment of the Moroccan’s talent just yet but his inability to make an impact in his cameo appearances has left the door wide open for Danilo to state his own case. Rangers’ themselves might have very little option but give him the chance. No money, no choice Rangers’ reported loss of loss of £17.2 million in their annual financial report is very much a situation of their own making. The impressive profit made from the sales of Calvin Bassey, Joe Aribo and Nathan Patterson seem an age away as the club continue to let players run down their contracts. In the past two summers, Alfredo Morelos, Ryan Kent, John Lundstram, Kemar Roofe and Borna Barisic have all left for free whilst Todd Cantwell and Scott Wright brought in less than £1 million combined despite having originally cost over £1.5m. Now sitting in third and with the title having almost run away from them, the board have stood behind Clement. In truth, their poor business model means they cannot afford to sack him and bring in a suitable replacement and as yet another stroke of good fortune for Danilo, the same goes for signing a new striker. Having reportedly spent almost £15 million much for their current set of options up front, the club would be lucky to recoup even a third of that. A sting for fans who have seen Celtic sell Matt O’Riley for almost twenty times what they originally paid, with Nicolas Kuhn likely to depart for a profit that would further widen the financial chasm between the two Glasgow sides. If they stand any chance of selling the Brazilian for what they paid, Danilo will need to be given a platform to attract potential suitors. Can Danilo deliver? Should the former Brazilian youth international be pushed out, there cannot be any complaints about a lack of opportunities to prove himself. For all of Rangers’ attempts to give the striker a run, seven consecutive games is the most he has managed before succumbing to injury. However, no chances have been taken as Danilo’s third coming has very much been a slow burner. A goalscoring return for Rangers’ B team in the Challenge Cup was followed by cameo appearances against Motherwell and Hearts for a combined half hour and those will surely increase as the fixtures come thick and fast throughout the winter. With the condensed calendar, the waning performances of his competitors and the lack of purchasing power of his own club, the stars have aligned for what could be his final chance at the club. Danilo has had a golden chance laid at his feet, it is now up to him to take it.