Rangers count blessings on failed transfer move as they ponder how to deal with blow

The striker had netted 15 goals across all competitions by the time he broke down following his team’s Scottish Cup exit to Falkirk and wasn’t seen again in a maroon shirt for two months.

Hearts needed someone to fill the goalscoring void over that period but instead found a raft of players raising their game to net in Shankland’s absence. Fellow frontman Claudio Braga led the way with three but there were also goalscoring contributions during that period from Stuart Findlay, Pierre Landry Kabore, Islam Chesnokov, Tomas Magnusson, Marc Leonard and Alexandros Kyziridis.

Now it is Rangers’ turn to look around and ask for help now that Shankland has succumbed to a second hamstring injury, with this one set to keep the striker out of action for up to four months. With Youssef Chermiti also out long-term, the onus will be on the three other centre forwards at Derek McInnes’ disposal to help keep the scoreboard ticking over.

Shankland has managed just four goals since making the move from Hearts but, after a slow start, was just starting to find his groove with winning goals against Aberdeen and Falkirk when this latest issue raised its head.

It was to Ryan Naderi that McInnes initially turned once it became apparent that Shankland wouldn’t be able to continue in Saturday’s match against Motherwell, the German repaying that show of faith by netting the only goal of the game. Kevin Kelsy, the £9m recruit from Portland Timbers, was handed a debut in the second half, while Bojan Miovski was not even among the replacements but could now come back into contention.

McInnes did not attempt to play down this latest Shankland setback but felt it could also be an opportunity for the above three in particular to step up and show what they can do.

Naderi has not been hugely prolific since arriving in Scotland from the German third tier but his strike on Saturday was his third of the season and he may benefit from a run of regular starts. Kelsy’s suitability to the Scottish game remains to be seen although presumably Rangers would not have shelled out such a gargantuan transfer fee if they did not think the Venezuelan was up to the task.

Miovski would seem to be the most natural finisher of the three but has struggled for gametime and looked set to leave in the final week of the transfer window. That a move failed to materialise could yet prove to be a blessing in disguise for both club and player given Rangers’ greater need now with their two main strikers sidelined.

“Unfortunately for Lawrence, it's a significant amount of time out and we just need to support him as we do with all our injured players,” said McInnes. “With Youssef also out, two guys that guarantee you goals at Premiership level, there's no doubt it's a blow.

“But their disappointments are other people's opportunity as we’ve seen on Saturday with Ryan getting his goal and Kevin getting introduced. We've also got Bojan who knows his way about the Scottish league as well so it's not all doom and gloom on that front.”

The first challenge for Rangers’ frontline comes in the shape of St Mirren ahead of the much-anticipated derby double-header against Celtic. McInnes is hopeful his ersatz forwards will stand up and be counted during that vital period.

“You’ve got to give opportunities - there's no point having a squad and then not having the belief that they can stand up to it,” he added. “Ryan was a significant investment last season from the club, albeit coming from a lower level. But he's got his goal, he's a handful. And when he plays, particularly with a partner, he does the job.

“Kevin's one that the club spent a significant amount of money on. He's still young and it's a big step for him coming here but we think it's the right step for him. And Bojan's goal-ratio per game in Scotland is very, very strong. It probably looked as if he was maybe going elsewhere at one point.

“But I'm glad now that these three lads are in the building. It’s not always the case that you have such good options when you get two significant injuries in one area of the pitch so I feel fortunate we've got these boys.”