Jordan Campbell has stated in a Q&A on The Athletic that Steven Davis often finds himself bullied by Hearts counterpart Steven Naismith, which sums up one of Rangers’ biggest problems.
What did he say?
Many Rangers fans will have been left furious after their 1-0 Scottish Cup loss against Heart of Midlothian, bringing them right back down to earth after their Europa League win against Braga.
The contrast of these two results shows one of Rangers’ big problems – facing lesser sides who look to impose themselves on Steven Gerrard’s team physically – and Davis in particular embodied that issue against Hearts.
Jordan Campbell explained: “Naismith has bullied him a couple of times now. He is a nuisance and Rangers don’t know how to handle it when they’re in their face like that.”
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Important side of the game
Before the cup defeat, Rangers had won just two of their six most recent SPFL matches, with losses coming against Hearts and Kilmarnock.
To be able to beat top Portuguese opposition but consistently fail to replicate that against lesser Scottish sides indicates there is a distinct issue for Gerrard to address if he is to win silverware with the club.
The Scottish Cup loss gives evidence that the big problem is a lack of aggressiveness, with James Tavernier’s header, Allan McGregor’s attempt at regaining possession and George Edmundson’s effort to block the ball all being weak in the build-up to Hearts’ goal.
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During the Q&A, one Rangers fan looked at the influence Scott Brown has at Celtic, despite being far from their best player technically, stating that “to win in Scotland you cannot let teams bully you like Rangers do”.
Therefore, Rangers may need to deploy a different style of midfielder to Davis if they are to truly excel in the domestic game.
Meanwhile, Chris Sutton has responded to the Hearts defeat.