Dujon Sterling wore the captaincy armband for the first time in his career against West Ham. However, Rangers are very unlikely to give him the role permanently. Ibrox Noise would kowtow to Derek McInnes’ judgement if he offered it to the former Chelsea youth. At the same time, we would remain slightly cautious about that particular decision. Rangers’ captaincy is important.
Shankland looks the obvious choice
The reality is, who are the candidates to become the new Rangers captain? The two obvious choices for now are Lawrence Shankland and Vanja Dragojević.
Lawrence Shankland, of course, previously captained Hearts. He represents a huge signing for Rangers and is now a leader by nature.
Of course, he is also a boyhood Rangers fan. He is massively familiar with Derek McInnes, to say the least.
He is probably the likely favourite to receive the armband at this point. However, he is not the only contender.
Dragojević offers captaincy experience
As we said before, the Serbian arrival captained Partizan Belgrade for a considerable period. He wore their armband well over 30 times.
For such a young man at just 20, that is not half bad. Let us face it, he is still just a kid. Consequently, Vanja Dragojević is also a huge contender for the job.
Dan Neil has also captained Rangers during preseason and has worn the armband more than once. As yet, he does not come across as a leader in the slightest. He has been in the press today suggesting he’d be very happy with the armband. Ibrox Noise is less keen.
He has performed well below par during preseason, to say the least. He has looked like the Joe Rothwell Mark II that Ibrox Noise feared he might be.
However, it seems that he is another contender.
Ben Godfrey enters the discussion
Then, of course, there is Ben Godfrey. He has not actually captained a team before. However, being older and slightly more of an alpha type of defender makes Godfrey a contender.
He has spoken about leadership and, of course, wore the armband against Saint Étienne. Consequently, he is surely a contender as well.
Derek McInnes is giving the armband to different players to see how they all handle it. Therefore, at the moment, no player looks like the clear choice.
However, as we have said, Shankland remains the most likely candidate. Given his history, reputation and experience, he seems the most likely choice.
Raskin no longer looks likely
One thing is certain. Nico Raskin will not become captain, despite looking like a stick on under the previous coach.
He was Rohl’s leader on the pitch and even undermined James Tavernier. Quite frankly, Danny Rohl did not like Tavernier one bit. The feeling was mutual. Hence Rangers’ captaincy was not his.
Consequently, Nico Raskin looked set to become the new captain. However, that all went haywire following Rohl’s departure and, of course, the pair falling out.
Raskin will likely move on anyway, so that is a non issue. We would be absolutely staggered if he became captain after all this.
We are not entirely sure who else would be a contender at this point. One or two others may put their hats in the ring to take on the role.
However, Rangers need an alpha leader and a proper big Rangers man. They need somebody who understands the club and truly acts as McInnes’ voice on the pitch.
Surely, Rangers’ captaincy has to be Shankland. He would certainly be Ibrox Noise’s choice by a long way.