Rangers and the defensive midfield problem

With a back line exposed time and time again with cruel ease by even lesser Championship sides, and Andy Halliday playing out of position in front of them, the slot on every Rangers fan’s lips is that of defensive midfield.

The extent to which the side needs a properly dedicated one has only grown in the past month or so, a period which has seen a horrendous slump in form, aided and abetted by the absence of a midfield destroyer in front of the defence.

The importance of such a player to any side cannot be understated, for he is the man who positionally protects the rearguard and does his damndest to stop any creativity from the opposition before it begins.

Without that proper assistance, the back four is cruelly exposed with lobbed ball after lobbed ball easily getting behind them, especially when two of them are usually in the opposition half.

Hindsight is very wise, but it is with that we look back and wonder if loaning Andy Murdoch out to Cowdenbeath was such a smart play from Mark Warburton. At the time he could do no wrong; he was trusted implicitly and the performances and displays justified such faith. Mark Warburton could have played himself up front and Martyn Waghorn in goal and fans would have believed.

With the gradual deterioration suffered over the past while, however, that belief is a hell of a lot more cautious now, and the decision to put out the young defensive stopper looks just a little less smart.

Whether Andy Murdoch will be recalled next month, or whether the manager elects to try and secure a more senior player from down south (or wherever) barely matters – Rangers cannot go into the business end of the season without a proper defensive midfielder and at least one deputy.

Whether that deputy is Murdoch remains to be seen, but if ever one position’s vulnerability was at the point of code red, it is defensive midfield at Ibrox.