Gary McAlister believes Ianis Hagi has benefited from the Rangers forward improving his ability to hold back and wait for the play to come to him, via quotes by the Daily Record.
Steven Gerrard’s number two feels the Romanian now has a greater understanding of his role at Ibrox. Which allows Hagi to ease himself into more threatening parts of the pitch, than simply charging around as before.
Hagi displayed this wiser thought process as Rangers beat Livingston 2-0 in the Premier Sports Cup on Wednesday. Gerrard introduced the £21k-a-week ace into the action at half-time with the score locked at 0-0. But within three-minutes of coming on, the Gers scored.
Hagi found a pocket of space on Livi’s left-flank and threaded a delicate ball across the box to Kemar Roofe. The striker then had a simple tap-in to put Rangers ahead, before Alfredo Morelos doubled their advantage.
McAlister has praised Hagi’s contribution to Rangers’ win after the 22-year-old recorded his second assist of the season. He registered his first of the term in the previous round of the Premier Sports Cup, while scoring, against Dunfermline.
“There is a cleverness about Ianis and it’s positional, it’s his awareness of how to play the role,” McAllister said. “Sometimes you see players that are really busy, running from box to box. But sometimes it’s actually advantageous to stand still and get your positioning right.
“He’s somebody who’s watched a lot of football and, obviously, his dad wasn’t bad either. He has learned from the fact you don’t have to be flying around the pitch to make an impact.”
Hagi to enjoy best Rangers season yet amid McAlister praise?
Gerrard will hope Hagi can put McAlister’s praise into action throughout the season and enjoy his best term yet. The 20-cap international now has two goals and two assists in seven appearances, across all competitions, after Wednesday’s result.
He has not scored in the Premiership since the opening day of the campaign as the Gers beat Livi, however. But is only one goal away from matching his 2019/20 haul (three goals, two assists in 13 appearances) and on pace to challenge last season’s return.
Hagi scored eight and assisted 15 over 45 games in his first full season after Rangers turned his loan permanent. Equating to a goal every 5.5 games and an assist every three. He is on a goal or an assist every 3.5 outings so far this season, and showing improvement.
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