Lee McCulloch defends Rangers’ Umar Sadiq

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Ibrox side Glasgow Rangers signed Umar Sadiq on a season-long loan.

Speaking to The Glasgow Evening Times, Lee McCulloch has acknowledged that Rangers striker Umar Sadiq remains very raw, but also believes that ‘there may be a player in there somewhere’.

In the absence of Kyle Lafferty and Alfredo Morelos, the Roma loanee started up front in Rangers’ League Cup defeat by Aberdeen at Hampden Park on Sunday, but struggled to make a positive impression.

It was a rare chance to impress for a player who has only made one Premiership appearance for the Ibrox side – a 13-minute cameo in the win over St Mirren back in August.

Gers boss Steven Gerrard had repeatedly told the 21-year-old to improve if he wanted to make his match-day squad on a regular basis, but it remains to be seen if the Nigerian hitman has done enough to keep himself in contention when Morelos and Lafferty are available again.

McCulloch, who spent eight years at Rangers, believes that criticism of Sadiq will only increase from here on in, but the 40-year-old wouldn’t be so quick to write him off based on what he witnessed this past weekend.

He told The Glasgow Evening Times: “I fully expect that everyone will be jumping on the bandwagon now to criticise Umar Sadiq after his performance at Hampden against Aberdeen, but in the circumstances, I think people should give the lad a break. I actually thought he did ok, especially in the first-half.

“As a team, Rangers aren’t the finished article, and Sadiq too is obviously a work in progress. He wouldn’t be here on loan from Roma otherwise.

“He might not be the easiest on the eye and he certainly has to work on the timing of his runs in behind to avoid being caught offside so much, but I saw glimpses from his performance that suggested there may be a player in there somewhere.”

Given the calibre of Morelos and Lafferty, it’ll certainly be tough for Sadiq – who earns £6,000 per week with the Italian side [Calciomercato] – to challenge both for a starting spot.

That being said, he has obviously improved to the point where Gerrard was comfortable starting him in a major game, even if it didn’t go to plan, so the man himself clearly has a bit about him and it’ll be interesting to see if he bounces back over the coming weeks and months.