Jon Flanagan may have just saved Rangers career with one display

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Glasgow Rangers summer signing Jon Flanagan has endured a mixed season at Ibrox.

Andy Halliday’s red card after the full-time whistle at the weekend opened the door for one of Rangers’ forgotten men to get a chance to make a rare appearance on Wednesday night.

Plenty would have hoped that Steven Gerrard would take a gamble on Lee Wallace, but it always appeared that Jon Flanagan was the obvious choice given how much the two men have played this season.

Flanagan started the campaign superbly following his arrival in the summer. His full-blooded challenges and no-nonsense approach, particularly in the less-familiar role of left-back, hinted that he looked destined to become a fan favourite at Ibrox.

However, his weaknesses on the left were exposed and his form dipped as Borna Barisic and Halliday took turns to impress in that area of the field.

In fact, with Halliday enjoying a remarkable turnaround under Gerrard, it appeared that Flanagan’s future may have a question mark hanging over it after just one season as the 26-year-old went into Wednesday having made just one appearance since the end of the winter break.

But with Halliday and Barisic unavailable for Hearts’ visit, it was Flanagan’s chance to prove a point to Gerrard and some of the Rangers fans, who had, understandably, lost a lot of faith in the former Liverpool ace.

It was an outstanding night for Rangers as they got back on track with a 3-0 victory. And it was also an evening which may be looked back upon as the turning point in Flanagan’s Gers career.

He has and he will play better. But there were enough positive signs to suggest that he has a bigger role to play than a fringe option who only emerges every few months. He looked much more like the player that the fans saw and often lauded in the early weeks of the campaign.

Had he struggled, it would have been difficult to see him getting another opportunity in the future. But like many of his teammates, he fought back against the criticism on Wednesday and produced a defining performance that would have reminded Gerrard why he took a gamble on the defender in the summer.