Josh Windass is starting to show Pedro Caixinha what he can do at Rangers with a series of influential displays.
After a difficult first season at Ibrox, Rangers had a decision to make with Josh Windass.
The Scottish Sun reported in June that there was no shortage of interest in a player who found it difficult to make the step-up from League Two Accrington Stanley last summer, Fleetwood Town, MK Dons and Peterborough United willing to hand Rangers a decent profit for a player they landed for a nothing more than a compensation fee.
By the time the transfer window closed, however, Windass was still a Rangers player. And if he performs like he did in Saturday’s 4-1 win against Dundee, he will be an integral part of the first-team sooner rather than later.
The 23-year-old played a starring role against Dundee, coming off the bench with half an hour to go with the score precariously balanced at 1-0. 14 minutes after his introduction, however, Windass doubled Rangers’ lead with a bullet header from a Daniel Candeias cross.
And Carlos Pena’s first Gers goal, the fourth of the game, owed much to Windass’s excellent approach work.
Provided he can stay fit, Windass looks like being a hugely important part of Caixinha’s first-team plans this season, even with the Rangers manager reinforcing his midfield with a raft of new additions this summer.
Windass’s power and presence, not to mention a goalscoring streak that saw him net 17 times in his final season for Accrington, is unmatched by any of the midfielder’s currently at Rangers’ disposal. And his well-placed header against Dundee highlighted that innate ability to arrive late in the box and convert chances with ruthless efficiency.
Caixinha said last month that Windass needed more self-belief if he was to fulfil his ‘huge potential’, as reported by Sky Sports. Another impressive performance is a step in the right direction.
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