Ex-Rangers man addresses Ibrox problem position as 23-cap midfielder tipped for 'alternative' exit

Philippe Clement’s side have been impressive in the Europa League this term, with their late 2-1 defeat to Manchester United on Thursday only their second loss in seven European games. However, domestically, Rangers have fallen 13 points behind Celtic due to a series of inconsistent performances.

“It’s been a strange, strange season,” admitted ex-Rangers defender Alan Hutton. “Very up and down, very inconsistent, especially looking at the league form. Home form, excellent, as you'd expect. Away form has been shocking, to be honest. I think they've dropped something like 20 points away from home, which is not good enough. I think there have been certain situations that the manager has had to deal with that hasn’t helped.”

Hutton believes Clement’s side have shown flashes of quality across the season, but believes the inconsistent performances would be helped by adding to certain problem positions, as he called on the board to remain patient over the Belgian boss.

“I know at Rangers you don't necessarily get time,” Hutton told Casino Scout. “But I think this manager is going to need a little bit more to get the best out of it. Second part of the season, the away form has to definitely improve to get Rangers to where they need to be, but I think this is more long-term than short-term.

“They've shown good performances against Celtic; they beat them at the start of the year. They're more than capable of putting in that standard of performance. They need to do that consistently over the season. That's the pressure that you're under playing with Rangers or Celtic. Winning week in, week out, and he has to address that away form.

“With the injuries that they've got, I think centre-half [where Rangers should target]. Nsiala, to be fair, he's a young boy, he's come in, they've got him from AC Milan. He was a kind of long-term project. He's done really well so far. Propper they signed for decent money. I don't think he's hit the ground running, I think he's struggled at times.

“Like I said, Souttar, Balogun, these guys that have got injuries, they need to strengthen. They've brought in a young boy from Lille, Rafael Fernandes. I don't know much about him. So at least they've gone and recruited somewhere. In the long term, you're probably looking for somebody to be in midfield, with experience. Somebody to help out a little bit.”

Meanwhile, midfielder Tom Lawrence was once again touted with a potential move away from Ibrox yesterday, following last week’s reports of interest from Turkish side Besiktas. The 23-cap Wales midfielder is out of contract in the summer, and hasn’t kicked a ball for the club since November due to injury. With uncertainly surrounding Lawrence’s future, Sky Sports pundit Clinton Morrison believes EFL Championship promotion chasers Burnley should make him a target this month.

“I think if a player like that becomes available, you definitely have a look at him for your squad,” said Morrison. “I don’t think it would be a bad signing. I saw a lot of Tom Lawrence when he was at Derby and he’s a good player, but he’s obviously gone to Rangers and it hasn’t really worked out through injuries and not getting enough game time. They’ve been interested in Morgan Whittaker. Maybe if they can’t get Whittaker, Lawrence could be an alternative second-choice transfer option” he told FLW.