Rangers’ Ryan Jack is a central midfielder by trade – but has been tipped by Murty to solve Scotland’s problem position.
The sight of arguably Scotland’s most gifted young player, Kieran Tierney, lining up in an unnatural right-back position was just one of the many arguments used to justify Gordon Strachan’s sacking as Scotland boss after their failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
In Strachan’s defence, Scotland are hardly blessed with a cacophony of options on the right hand side of defence. Though Rangers’ caretaker manager Graeme Murty has offered a possible solution.
“Ryan (Jack) is a clever footballer with a number of outstanding weapons he can deploy. You can give tactical instructions to him and see them deployed at a high level,” Murty said when asked whether the Rangers ace could fill in at right-back during Scotland’s friendly clash with Holland on Thursday, per the Daily Record.
A tenacious central midfielder by trade, former Aberdeen skipper Jack will be hoping to make his senior Scotland debut this week after making 33 appearances for his country at youth level.
Whether the 25-year-old has the versatility and discipline to adapt to an all-new full-back role, however, is another matter entirely.
Jack, after all, has been sent off three times already since moving to Rangers in the summer so it certainly seems a risk for stand-in Scotland boss Malky Mackay to deploy him in a more defensive role where there is likely to be greater risks.
If Jack impresses, however, he could give both Scotland and Rangers plenty of food for thought in the coming months. If Murty remains in charge at Ibrox after the international break, don’t be surprised to see Jack trialled in a new role at club level either.
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