After Djeidi Gassama and Oliver Antman played no part in Rangers’ win over St. Etienne on Wednesday night, questions have been asked about their future at Ibrox.
The Gers boss opted to start Findlay Curtis as his chosen ‘ball carrier’, while Mo Diomande provided a left foot on the right flank, reflecting his preference for inverted wingers.
The Ivorian could not be described as a winger, but he performed a role for Rangers in the win over Ian Cathro’s Ligue 2 side, before he pivoted to a box midfield brief later in the game.
Post-match, Derek McInnes stated he expects a couple of new faces to arrive by the weekend, as well as calling for more firepower on the wings.
Where does that leave Gassama and Antman?
Gassama and Antman remained on the bench, so we can reasonably assume that they aren’t first choice.
No surprise there.
However, when the pack was shuffled, they weren’t called upon and that matters.
Rangers will bring in at least one more winger, quite possibly two, and there is a dire need for quality. Particularly to suit the system McInnes wants to deploy.
The Rangers manager said after the game that his selection for Sunday against West Ham would be made with the first league game in mind, and most of those who played last night would feature again.
That doesn’t bode well for Gassama and Antman.
“You don’t want to be undercooked going into that first game (Dundee Utd). It’s important that we’ve got enough, the nucleus of that potential starting team, with the minutes under the belt, said McInnes to the assembled press.
“You might get one or two who didn’t start tonight playing this game on Sunday. But again, based on your question, you’ll see a lot of players who played tonight playing again.”
Will Gassama and Antman depart Rangers in this window?
As it stands, the pair are required as backup.
The existing wing options are Findlay Curtis, Gassama, Antman and, at a push, Thelo Aasgaard and Nedim Bajrami.
The latter two aren’t wingers in a true sense, with the Albanian also likely to be moved on.
Last season, Gassama showed his worth in fleeting moments, but too often, he didn’t perform when it mattered.
Antman struggled in his first campaign at Ibrox and so far, it doesn’t look like he has convinced McInnes that he’s ready to be called upon.
Sunday’s game against West Ham will provide another indicator on this intriguing situation.
