Graeme Murty claims Jason Holt is really unfortunate not to be in Rangers’ starting XI

Follow us on Google Discover

Rangers boss Graeme Murty has praised midfielder Jason Holt.

Rangers manager Graeme Murty has told The Herald that he thinks midfielder Jason Holt is ‘really unfortunate’ not to be starting for the Gers right now.

Rangers picked up another win on Sunday afternoon, hammering Falkirk 4-1 in the Scottish Cup to advance into the semi-finals of the competition and set up a clash with Celtic.

The Gers have now won nine of their 10 games in 2018, and are in blistering form under Murty ahead of Sunday’s Old Firm derby against Celtic at Ibrox.

A win for Rangers would cut the gap at the top of the Scottish Premiership table to just three points, presenting the Gers with a perfect chance to lay down a marker and give Celtic a real title fight in the final weeks of the season.

Part of the season for Rangers’ upturn in form of late has been their impressive January recruitment, as Russell Martin, Sean Goss, Greg Docherty, Jamie Murphy and Jason Cummings have all impressed since arriving.

Goss and Docherty have starred in recent games as they form a strong midfield partnership, and their superb form means that Jason Holt has been dropped to the bench of late.

Holt, 25, had been a regular under Murty before the arrivals of Goss and Docherty, and now faces a real battle to force his way back into the Rangers starting line-up.

Murty has now told The Herald that he wanted to give Holt playing time with a 20-minute cameo against Falkirk, adding that the former Hearts man is ‘really unfortunate’ to be out of the side right now, and he loves the competitive nature in his squad right now.

“It is just a case of making sure we rotate the squad and making sure everyone is okay,” said Murty. “Sean Goss had done enough. He missed a day’s training earlier in the week so I thought that was enough for him. Jason Holt is a guy who is always ready to go. He has got a fantastic character. He is a fantastic person to have in the squad.”

“He is really unfortunate actually to miss out on starting, but those are the decisions you have to make as a manager and I believe that having good players vying for each position is a mark of where we are trying to get to as a squad,” he added.