Derek McInnes recently made a very interesting admission as Rangers manager. After the West Ham match, he commented on his four strikers. It was a very telling comment from the Rangers boss.
Chermiti can create his own chances
He said that, of all four strikers, only Youssef Chermiti can take the ball and create a chance for himself.
We found this a curious statement, and we will explain why in a moment. He further added that Shankland, Miovski and Naderi are all goalscorers who require service.
He said:
“So we are looking for a bit more creativity that can serve the strikers.I think we’ve got strikers in Naderi, Chermiti, Shankland and Miovski who can all finish off chances. Maybe only Chermiti is capable of creating an opportunity for himself. But Ryan, Lawrence and Bojan are very much dependent on service.”
We find this a very strange admission from the manager. The reason is simple.
Whether he was simply providing lip service or making comments to give the press information, we cannot know for sure. However, he played Lawrence Shankland in the number 10 position at Hearts.
He played him behind Cláudio Braga. Consequently, Lawrence Shankland can play slightly deeper and create chances.
Shankland played deeper at Hearts
Shankland has proven that himself and has discussed it in the press since arriving in Govan. Now, this is not necessarily a contradiction in terms, but it remains a curiosity.
As a number 10, your job is not necessarily to score. However, the role requires the ability to take the ball from deeper and create something, potentially for yourself.
Who can forget the great trequartistas of the past, such as Brazil’s Kaká? He played deeper as a number 10, drove into the box and could finish chances himself.
That is generally what a number 10 can do. Of course, he can also operate as the second striker behind the number 11 or number nine. He can finish chances and provide for them.
Shankland remains a number nine
We do not know whether Shankland can actually do that. However, he played in that position for McInnes at Hearts.
He also admitted that it was not necessarily his best position. That suggests that he and the manager agree that he is primarily a number nine.
That is the position he will play at Ibrox.
However, McInnes suggesting that Chermiti alone can take the ball deeper and create chances for himself was intriguing. It is probably not entirely untrue.
We certainly do not see that side from Bojan Miovski or Ryan Naderi. However, there remains a question over Shankland.
McInnes makes his assessment
Whether McInnes agrees with that is another matter. However, it seems that McInnes has made up his mind.
He believes Youssef Chermiti is the only striker he has who can make things happen himself.
Whether Rangers fans fully agree with that, we could not possibly tell you. However, that is what the manager thinks.