George Edmundson can consider himself a touch unfortunate, or put in his place, depending on how you view it.

His preseason was impressive, and it looked every inch he would partner Connor Goldson or Filip Helander, or at least, play a big role this season.

Steven Gerrard had other ideas, and frankly broke Edmundson’s morale by unexpectedly signing Wigan’s Leon Balogun.

No one saw that coming, and the big Nigerian has effectively snaffed Edmundson’s slot, and with Niko Katic still to come back, the ex-Oldham man saw his chances become effectively nil.

But, you see, for Rangers to become the juggernaut we are presently playing like requires having the best players we can have, and the clear and present reality of Edmundson is that he wasn’t the best we could have. Filip Helander, Connor Goldson and especially Balogun are much more in the Rangers ballpark, not to mention Katic.

Which is why the weekend’s developments, while disappointing, effectively mean his fleeting bench appearances are the only thing Rangers really lose out on, should the inevitable materialise and he doesn’t play again for the club.

The reality is Edmundson’s mistake makes little difference to Rangers in a playing sense. We lose one defender for barely two months, then welcome back Katic just in time for the January window – restoring our four alpha defenders and waving Edmondson off.

For what it’s worth, this isn’t a hate fest on the 23-year old, he made a horrendous error and he’ll pay the price for that – but we do like him as a player.

But our manager wants better. And that’s why he signed Balogun.

Edmundson is just a squad member, nothing more. We lose some depth for a while, but that problem solves itself when Katic comes back.

Of course, there’s a slim chance Edmundson might be welcomed back in a few weeks, and all will be forgiven in the name of depth.

But given this club’s zero tolerance on poor conduct or ill-discipline, we doubt it.