As Ibrox Noise recently discussed, stats matter, and one player whose numbers and contribution get forensically scrutinised is Ryan Kent, with so many fans dismissing his play this season and picking him as the biggest scapegoat.

Indeed, some have decided one of Rangers’ most influential players since he signed wasn’t in fact worth a penny of the £7.5M fee which gives some idea of how divided the support is over him.

So we decided to look at his numbers properly and see how ‘rubbish’ he actually is.

Assists – 7, same as Borna, joint 4th in the league, and only one beyond Jota.

Big chances created – 9, same as Abada, joint 8th in the league but only one behind Tillman and Barisic, and two behind Tavernier.

Key passes – 2.2, third behind just Tav and Barisic.

In short, while Ryan Kent is not outright topping any single chart of major gravity, he’s up there with the best for many of them, and is giving as much as any player.

So what’s the problem here?

The problem is that Rangers fans expect Brian Laudrup. They expect a winger destroying the opposition and frequently beating 5 players before sticking the ball away. Laudrup raised the standards expected in that position, and no one will ever come close to him. He was a phenomenon.

But Kent clearly doesn’t get the credit he deserves, and even seeing the numbers and stats won’t persuade those detractors that he is actually doing a lot more than he seems.

For example, Fashion Sakala barely gets into any of these stat charts, only matching Kent on assists, yet many supporters cut him a lot more slack than Kent, mainly because he was a free.

Kent gets harshly judged based on his pricetag, and obviously also because of his contract situation.

If he was to leave, Rangers have no one who can play Kent’s role. He would be a big miss, and fans would only realise what an impact he has once he was gone.

But that’s always the way isn’t it? You don’t appreciate what you have till it’s no longer there.