Glasgow Rangers midfielder Greg Docherty left Ibrox on loan in the summer and is enjoying a very good spell this season.
Mark Allen has explained to Rangers’ official website that Greg Docherty needed to leave Ibrox in the summer to get the game-time he needed as he continues to develop his game, while he added that he was extremely happy with the midfielder’s loan spell in League One.
Docherty was perhaps a surprise name to depart Ibrox during the previous window. The 22-year-old featured under Steven Gerrard and was arguably one of the Gers’ better performers during the second-half of last season following his £650,000 January arrival – fee reported by the Daily Record.
He headed to Shrewsbury and has enjoyed a very promising start to life with the third tier side. He is their joint top goalscorer in the league, while no player has provided more assists than the youngster either.
Docherty is certainly doing all he can to stake a claim to Gerrard ahead of his expected return to Rangers next summer. And Allen – who was explaining the thinking behind appointing Billy Kirkwood as the club’s loans manager – suggested that they were very happy with how well he is doing out on loan.
“We felt as a group Greg needed more game time,” he told the club’s official website. “And we felt maybe a move away to look at a different league would help his development.
“He is doing very well where he is at the moment, but we need to monitor Greg in great detail, and this loans manager will take that responsibility on.”
And while Allen may well argue that no decisions have been made yet, the suggestion that the club are happy with how Docherty is getting on does perhaps hint that they are unlikely to change their plans and recall him prematurely.
Gerrard continues to have a large number of options to pick from in the middle of the park, so Rangers may be wary that recalling Docherty early could have a negative impact on his development.
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