Rangers prevailed against a stubborn St. Johnstone, with Josh Rae in the visitors’ goal proving particularly difficult to overcome.
Set pieces were mastered without any problems even without Robin Propper and Jack Butland was only threatened on a few occasions.
Overall, the Rangers team delivered an excellent performance for almost 90 minutes, but the manager still faces a worrying problem that he needs to solve.
St Johnstone’s biggest threat for much of the first half came from James Tavernier, who gave away possession, was repeatedly targeted and produced a 5/10 stinker.
James Tavernier struggles as Rangers easily beat St Johnstone
Philippe Clement already has few options left due to injuries and transfer speculation, but the last thing he wants is to have to make a decision about his captain.
In pre-season, Dujon Sterling started against Man Utd and kept Jadon Sancho in check.
At this point, it looked like Tavernier was out and Sterling was set to be his successor.
Since then, Sterling has been injured and Tavernier’s planned move to Trabzonspor never materialised.
The 32-year-old has started every game this season, despite the coach saying he would not play that many games.
Statistically, Tavernier has been one of the best players so far this season according to FotMob, but the eye test tells a different story despite his average rating of 8.15.
One of Tavernier’s problems is that he is the face of failure.
Winning three major trophies since 2015 is far from acceptable, regardless of individual accolades and numbers.
Why Tavernier’s form will always attract attention
Against Dynamo Kyiv, it was Tavernier who had to face the media and it was a familiar story:
“We need to look back as soon as possible and see where we can improve because we know we can play better as a team.
“But we have to put that aside and really concentrate on the game this weekend.
“We have new guys who are improving their match fitness. As a group we are all still learning. It was Vac’s second game before me now, so we are trying to build that partnership, and of course Baz (Barron) and Dio (Mohamed Diomande) in midfield.
“We work as hard as we can and give everything for the badge and the team. The achievements will come.”
“We are constantly working hard on the training ground and will keep fighting until the end.”
However, that is easier said than done, as Dynamo’s reaction afterwards proved. Resigning as captain might have taken some of the pressure off him.
In addition, he could concentrate on his game and not have to worry about what it means to be responsible for every loss or disappointment.
Whether he likes it or not, he is the face of so many failures and if his performance drops, he will face greater scrutiny than any other player.
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