Things are looking quite good at Glasgow Rangers right now. Michael Beale has yet to taste defeat in 11 games since taking over at the end of last year and the January transfer window was a successful one, signing Todd Cantwell and Nicolas Raskin to bolster his squad.
Although the Premiership crown looks beyond reach, the chance of a domestic cup double will be the aim over the next few months, and it would be an excellent springboard ahead of next season.
Indeed, today’s Scottish Cup fifth-round tie against Patrick Thistle will give Beale a chance to rotate his starting XI slightly and give more minutes to some fringe players against Championship opposition.
Against Ross County last weekend, Fashion Sakala was one of the poorer performers for the Ibrox side, with the 25-year-old losing possession 18 times and struggling to get into the match.
Malik Tillman started on the bench, but Beale must unleash him from the start today, as he could operate just behind the striker with Cantwell moving over to replace Sakala on the right.
Will Tillman play against Partick Thistle?
The £13k-per-week American has taken some time to adjust to the physicality of Scottish football, but his talent is incredible and he has flourished under Beale when called upon to start.
He has scored four times and grabbed two assists under the current Rangers boss and a more fluid tactical system is allowing the youngster to shine, giving him more space and enabling him the opportunity to score more regularly.
Strikingly, in 11 matches under Beale, he has matched his goal tally from the 24 games that he played during Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s reign, a sure sign of how the Englishman is getting the best out of Tillman.
The 20-year-old replaced John Lundstram in the early stages against Ross County last week and he was one of the standout performers that day, even if deployed slightly deeper than usual. The American had three shots during the game, scored the opening goal just before half-time and made two key passes.
He displayed great maturity in working well alongside Ryan Jack in the heart of the Rangers midfield and highlighted his impressive passing ability by completing 89% of his passes while taking 77 touches, and his performances keep getting better.
Rangers Review journalist Jonny McFarlane recently praised the youngster on their official YouTube channel, saying: “He’s been absolutely superb under Michael Beale – another one who’s just completely taken his game to another level.”
That is high praise indeed, and although the 20-year-old is only on loan from Bayern Munich for this season, Beale will surely have to convince Ross Wilson that signing him permanently could improve the Light Blues’ squad ahead of 2023/24 as they aim to re-establish their dominance of Scottish football.
from FootballFanCast.com https://ift.tt/LXBh84k
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