Glasgow Rangers fans got to see the best of Ross McCrorie at the weekend as the Gers won 1-0 at Ibrox.
If there was one major positive to emerge from Pedro Caixinha’s ill-fated Rangers tenure, it was arguably the emergence of Ross McCrorie who took virtually no time at all to settle into the first-team fold and stamp his authority on a place in the Gers side.
McCrorie looked bright when deployed at centre-back, and his astronomical potential was confirmed when he looked just as comfortable when pushed slightly further forward into holding midfield. It appeared that the midfield role was going to be where the youngster became a real star.
Unfortunately, injury left him sidelined for several months and he returned to a Gers side that was starting to see the wheels come off after a bright spell following the resumption of the Scottish Premiership season at the start of the year.
He returned to the heart of the defence, but struggled to impress in that role. A red card in the Scottish Cup semi-final best highlighted that, but with Graeme Murty hardly having any in-form options to pick from at centre-back, it appeared that the 20-year-old may have to finish the campaign in that role.
However, after initially being left on the bench for Saturday’s clash with Kilmarnock, McCrorie got another chance when he replaced Jason Cummings at the break with the game goalless.
With David Bates back, the chance for McCrorie came at holding midfield, and it is fair to say that the academy graduate was simply superb in that slightly advanced role. He brilliantly broke up play, and performed well on the ball as the Gers went on to win 1-0.
With Steven Gerrard now waiting in the wings to take charge of Rangers, it was the kind of performance that McCrorie perhaps needed to put in after a difficult few weeks. And it was the kind of display that should convince Gerrard that the starlet’s best role is in the middle of the park.
With Bates on his way, Rangers desperately need signings at centre-back as it appears, at the moment, that an under-par McCrorie still gets into the strongest pairing amongst the back four.
But while that should give Gerrard some confidence and a safety net if he is unable to make significant additions at the heart of the defence, the intention after Saturday surely has to be to let McCrorie grow in that midfield role as his game appears to go up several levels in that position.
And given his potential, that is a frightening thought.
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