Rangers’ Lassana Coulibaly admits his form hasn’t been good enough

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Rangers brought Lassana Coulibaly to Ibrox over the summer.

Rangers midfielder Lassana Coulibaly has told The Telegraph that he knows he has been in poor form of late, but he will get back to his best very soon.

Coulibaly was a virtual unknown when Rangers swooped to land him from Angers on a season-long loan deal, but he quickly became a key part of Steven Gerrard’s midfield.

The Malian, 22, started the season superbly, earning huge praise for his all-action displays, but suffered an injury early in the campaign – and he hasn’t managed to recapture his best form since.

Coulibaly has slipped out of the Rangers side and only came on as a substitute in the 1-0 win over Celtic before New Year, turning in an uneasy cameo.

Now, Coulibaly has admitted that he and some other Rangers players have found life uneasy in the first half of the season, given that they had to play Sunday-Thursday-Sunday due to Europa League commitments.

Coulibaly added that he knows his form isn’t good enough, and promised there is more to come from him in 2019 before his loan deal ends.

“When you have a lot of games, like we have played – Sunday-Thursday-Sunday – you don’t have the time to rest,” said Coulibaly. “Your body is always working, so if you don’t take care then that is when we can get a lot of injuries. Some of our players – especially myself from playing in the French league – are not used to playing every weekend and midweek.”

“There is still more to come from me. This is not my best form. I know the way I was playing before my injuries came. Now I think things can be different,” he added.

The problem for Coulibaly is that Gerrard may have already replaced him by tying up a pre-contract agreement with Dundee midfielder Glen Kamara.

Kamara could play in that box-to-box role Coulibaly has featured in, and comes for free rather than having to negotiate a permanent deal with Angers.

Coulibaly looks set to feature between now and the end of the season, but with Kamara on board for next season, Gerrard already appears to be preparing for life without Coulibaly.