“Unceremoniously dumped” – has Gerrard got key call correct?

There have been many falls from grace in Scottish football over the years, but more subtle ones tend to slip by unnoticed. And when it comes to Nikola Katic, if ever a Rangers player went from fan-favourite and hero to complete forgotten man, this would be it.

This guy was loved by the fans and an absolute first-pick. He put his body where it hurt, fought like a lion, and while he was prone to the odd error, he was a developing defender and a huge force for good at the back.

Then we signed Joe Worrall and that was the end of Katic.

It really is as blunt as that – sure, the Croat has had a few fleeting starts since the Forest lad came on loan, but he’s not only not on the bench any more but isn’t even making the squad half the time.

We did a piece on our friends at the Rangers Report’s analysis of how Worrall’s stats were indeed impressively superior to his team mate, but it doesn’t alter how Katic got dumped so dramatically despite seeming to be a Gerrard favourite. On merit.

We similarly covered how Worrall himself has lost his place, and is now benched more often than not, and equally addressed our concern that Connor Goldson’s form has been patchy at best recently. Increasingly solid at Tynecastle, after a slow start, Goldson’s form has dipped more than we would like it to, and yet he has played almost every match this season regardless.

McAuley we like in theory but still haven’t seen enough to form a global opinion.

But it still comes back to Katic – that this prize asset who seemed to be growing into a £5M then £10M defender has been unceremoniously dumped.

We’ve discussed how Gerrard may have suggested why – by revealing Katic was signed for the future and is actually ahead of schedule, but whatever the details are, surely your best players, especially the ones you paid £2M for, deserve more time in the team?

It’s an odd one.