Rangers have gone unbeaten in their last 12 matches across all competitions, winning 10 and drawing two, and moved to within a point of the Scottish Premiership summit after a 2-0 victory at St Mirren on Saturday. They boast the best defensive record in the league and the third-best attacking record, yet there is a sense they are not performing to their full potential.
Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton, speaking on Sky Sports, said: "There's still not that element of control. That killer instinct is really important, but they don't control games the way they should. That will be the worry. Eventually that will bite Rangers in the backside." Fellow pundit and former Rangers striker Kris Boyd agreed, adding: "They are a good team, but with Rangers teams of the past, that would have been three or four. There is something missing."
Against St Mirren, Ryan Naderi opened the scoring from the penalty spot — his sixth goal in eight league matches — and Dan Neil's deflected shot made it 2-0. Rangers' expected goals (xG) for the 12 league matches this season stands at 29.8, but they have scored only 21. Key strikers Youssef Chermiti and Lawrence Shankland are both sidelined with injuries, which partly explains the profligacy, though Naderi and Kevin Kelsy have been productive, with at least one of them scoring in all but two matches since August.
Wider attacking contributions remain a concern. Summer signing Kim Min-su has yet to register a goal or assist, while Badredine Bouanani has shown quality without consistent end product. Manager Derek McInnes highlighted the need for better decision-making in the final third: "Loads of chances. It's quite ironic we scored from a penalty and a deflected shot, but some of our work was really clean up until the last part. What becomes a good chance could be a brilliant chance if we just take care with the weight of pass and make the right decision."
McInnes acknowledged the team's recent draws against Hearts and Dundee, stating: "It's not been perfect. Our fight is with ourselves to keep improving. If we can keep winning and getting those improvements as we go along, there's hopefully more to come from us." Sutton believes that if Rangers find that extra gear, they could become difficult to stop: "They seem like a team that have another gear or two and that will be a worry for the other teams in the league."
