Rangers

Martin Watt
BBC Sport Scotland

Zero goals and assists isn't a great return from £8.5m winger Kim Min-su's first dozen Rangers appearances.

The South Korea international had hoped to hit the ground running following his move from Girona, but has so far found it difficult to add end product to flashes of promise.

At just 20, there is plenty of improvement and development to come from Kim, especially as he adapts to a new country having spent the majority of his life in Spain.

And do the underlying numbers help paint a broader picture of his early Ibrox career?

Kim has played 10 Scottish Premiership games, nine of them starts, and must be wondering how he has yet to break his duck. He has missed a penalty - in the 1-0 win over Motherwell in early September - and struck the woodwork a league-high three times.

His lack of goals isn't for want for trying. Kim has attempted 30 shots - second only to Ryan Naderi in the Rangers squad - with 14 from inside the box.

Only 10 of Kim's shots were on target, which hints at a lack of composure in front of goal, a trait evident in the recent 1-0 League Cup semi-final win over Aberdeen where he snatched horribly at a golden opportunity with the game goalless.

Premiership wise, Kim has spurned two of what Opta deem 'big chances' and he is significantly underperforming his non-penalty xG of 1.8. It is a common issue in Derek McInnes' team, who are not making the most of their opportunities - Rangers have scored 21 league goals from an xG of 29.7.

And although he's not scoring, the data behind the creative side of Kim's game stands up to scrutiny.

He has created 22 chances, the joint highest at Rangers alongside fellow winger Djeidi Gassama. Kim's four 'big chances' created is also a joint high with Findlay Curtis and Naderi.

Unsurprisingly, wingers Kim and Gassama are the squad leaders for dribbles attempted and completed. Gassama can boast a higher success rate (58% - 21 from 36) than Kim (44% - 18 from 41).

Kim also ranks highly for progressive carries, while he is joint top with James Penrice for most passes played into the opposition box (47), and top for through balls (4) and pullbacks (3).

The South Korean is Rangers' main corner taker, sending 19 of those 24 deliveries into the box, but is underperforming his overall expected assists of 1.9 in the league.

Despite that, of his 12 outings across Premiership and League Cup, Kim has yet to taste defeat, with Rangers winning 10 and drawing two.

After Rangers extended their unbeaten run to 12 games with a 2-0 win at St Mirren last Saturday night, McInnes defended Kim's contribution since joining the club.

"I think it's important we try to show him a lot of his highlights in terms of what he does, because I think he's becoming a bit obsessed with this [elusive] goal," said the Ibrox manager.

"It's the thing people want to talk about more, but the takeaways for me from the game isn't the fact he missed chances, it's his effort, willingness to press and engage in the game, his intelligence to find pockets of space and run gaps and support the front two. I thought he was outstanding apart from not scoring.

"He's a young boy learning on the job and has been a huge part of our unbeaten run."

Former Rangers loanee Mikey Moore's switch to Cologne from Tottenham could be cut short in January with the Bundesliga club not interested in making the move permanent, but the Ibrox club are not yet pursuing a return despite the 19-year-old winger expressing his desire to play for them again. (TeamTalk, external)

Moore says he has watched almost every Rangers game since the end of last season's spell from Spurs and despite his current loan move to Cologne. (Record - subscription required, external)

Oskar Fallenius, who is understood to be of interest to Rangers, has revealed he was forced to call security on his own fans as tensions mount over the 25-year-old winger's expected January departure from Djurgardens. (Scotsman - subscription required, external)

Rangers are not planning to send Vanja Dragojevic out on loan in January despite the 20-year-old midfielder's lack of game time. (Football Insider, external)

Dragojevic admits the Rangers support have helped him stay patient as he waits for his chance. (Sun, external)

Aris Thessaloniki are expected to rekindle their interest in Rangers and Scotland defender John Souttar, 30, in January. (Sun, external)

Friday's Scottish gossip

Image source, SNS

Rangers manager Derek McInnes is happy to see Ben Godfrey buy into his Ibrox project despite playing only a peripheral role so far.

The centre-back has struggled for game time since arriving on loan from Serie A club Atalanta in the summer and the partnership of Olwethu Makhanya and Emmanuel Fernandez means the former Norwich City and Everton 28-year-old will have to be patient.

"I think initially Ben was obviously quite a big signing for us, quite excited by it," McInnes said.

"Him, Dan Neil and Ross McCrorie were well down the line when I got the job, so these were ones that were getting done.

"Ben lost his way a wee bit, but when you speak to a few managers who have worked with him, then you get a chance to work with him, you see exactly his attributes.

"He played a bounce game out here against Dundee a couple of weeks ago and he treated it like a cup final.

"He epitomises what you want in the squad. The team can only be as strong as the squad behind it, to be honest. He trains right, he's popular with the lads and he's just a good type.

"He's loving it at Rangers. He just wants to be part of it and he wants to get more minutes on the pitch, which is the challenge for him."

Image source, SNS

Former Rangers manager Michael Beale has left Belgian Pro League club Zulte Waregem after just 12 games in charge.

Amid reports Beale had resigned over the club's decision-making and long-term vision, Zulte said: "After several internal discussions between the head coach and the club, both parties decided to end their collaboration by mutual agreement."

Beale was appointed on a two-year contract in the summer and went unbeaten in his first five league games, but he departs after a run of six straight defeats that leaves the side 14th in the table.

The 46-year-old Englishman was sacked by Rangers three years ago after a 10-month tenure.

He soon joined Sunderland but lasted only 12 matches before being dismissed.

Image source, SNS

Ryan Naderi's impressive start to the season at Rangers has begun to attract attention, with West Ham and Wolves now monitoring the Czech international, along with an unnamed Premier League side and a German Bundesliga outfit. (TeamTalk, external)

Norwich City boss Philippe Clement believes he was in "the right place at the wrong moment" when he was Rangers manager. (Scottish Sun, external)

Ronald de Boer has revealed how he snubbed Manchester United to join Rangers in 2000 after seeking advice from Louis van Gaal and insists he has never regretted his decision. (The Herald - subscription required, external)

Alasdair Lamont
BBC Sport Scotland Commentator

As a chunk of the Rangers squad prepares for international duty, the fanbase can be reasonably satisfied with the run of results since the previous international break.

Only the draw at Dens Park can be considered a genuine blemish on a record that remains unbeaten in the league since their solitary defeat by Hibernian at Ibrox in August.

By Derek McInnes' own admission, performances have not been perfect, but crucially, as he also likes to underline, the team has continued, for the most part, to win games and stay within touching distance of a Celtic side that is certainly not firing on all cylinders.

If Rangers can continue to pick up points at a similar rate, they will be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.

On their return, they face a potentially tricky game at Fir Park. This will mean they have played eight away from home and just five at Ibrox, but the balance will then be redressed within a week, with visits from Aberdeen, Falkirk and Dundee United.

None of those four games feel like gimmes for Rangers right now, but they are all winnable, and a title-winning side would probably take 12 points from 12.

The actual outcomes will be instructive as to Rangers' true pedigree, and McInnes will hope victories come with continued improvements in performance and, crucially, a more clinical edge in front of goal.

They generally look sound at the back - the best defensive record in the league is testament to that - and even when there are occasional slip-ups, the recovery pace of Manny Fernandez and Olwethu Makhanya, allied to the reliability of Ivor Pandur behind them, tends to keep the opposition at bay.

If Rangers can bury a few more chances on a more regular basis, they will be a force to be reckoned with.

Image source, SNS

Rangers great Mark Hateley sees a lot of his younger self in Ryan Naderi and is backing the striker to continue his upward trajectory.

The 23-year-old scored one goal in nine league appearances last season after joining from Germany's third tier in February.

The former Hansa Rostock forward has stepped up to the plate this season in the absence of Lawrence Shankland and Youssef Chermiti, scoring nine goals, five of which have come in his past six matches.

"He must be a joy to work with because he does all the hard stuff, all the hard running. He runs in behind and puts in the hard yards," said Hateley, who scored more than 100 goals for Rangers and won 11 domestic honours.

"When you have talent, that is probably the one thing that can be lacking - the willingness to work hard. He has that as a natural ability.

"He is that centre-forward, playing through the middle, basically causing chaos. I see a lot of that in me when I was a youngster. But then I had things added to my game, which can easily be done with a young boy.

"So I'm really, really pleased for him. You do the hard yards and you get the rewards.

"I came here when I was nearer the finished article. This is a starting block for him, coming from third-division German football to here."

Hateley revealed he gave the Czech Republic striker some advice after seeing him struggle to make a major impact during the first few months of his Ibrox career.

"I had a quick chat with him when he was injured, on a matchday," he added. "A quick, quick chat with him about what we wanted and how we wanted to get there.

"I won't tell you what I said to him, but we seem to have hit the right straps. He's doing remarkably well and scoring a lot of goals.

"If he wants to become the player he wants to be, then Derek [McInnes] has a lot of hard work to do to keep him at the football club, because I think he could be a massive part of what lies ahead."

Image source, SNS

Rangers have no intention of selling Tuur Rommens any time soon despite the Belgian finding himself behind on-loan AEK Athens left-back James Penrice in the pecking order and the expectation that the Scot's transfer will become permanent. (Football Insider, external)

Mikey Moore says he decided not to return on loan to Rangers because of Danny Rohl's exit as head coach, but the 19-year-old currently farmed out by Tottenham Hotspur to Cologne hopes to one day be back at Ibrox to win trophies with the Glasgow club. (Daily Record - subscription required, external)

Greig Mailer has departed his role as Rangers' chief financial officer after 19 months at the Ibrox club. (Daily Record - subscription required, external)

Rangers winger Kim Min-su has dropped out of the South Korea Under-21 squad with a calf injury picked up against St Mirren. (Joel Kim on X, external)

Steven Gerrard says that Leicester City knocked back approaches by Rangers to sign winger Harvey Barnes and midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall while former Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers was in charge. (The Overlap Daily, external)

Image source, SNS

James Penrice reckons his journey from Scotland's third tier to his first call up to the national squad has "been a bit mental".

At 27, the left-back currently on loan to Rangers from AEK Athens admits he has been a late bloomer.

"Nowadays, there are 17 and 18-year-olds winning World Cups and, when they are 21 or 22, they think their career's done," he told Sky Sports.

"But I think I was League 1 at 23, so it's all about putting your head down and hard work."

Penrice came through the youth ranks with Partick Thistle.

"It's been a slow rise," he admitted. "Don't get me wrong, when we dropped into League 1, there's was part of me that thought I was kind of done and I'd be in part-time football.

"Especially when Covid hit, I was looking at courses and thinking of life after football, but from then I kind of got my head down."

Penrice was given what he thought was his "last chance" at full-time football by Livingston.

"I think I grasped it and I moved to Hearts and the season wasn't great, but it was a good personal season for me and then I obviously moved to Greece," he said.

"So it's been a bit mental from where I was at 20-21, but it makes it more interesting, doesn't it?

"Don't get me wrong - you need luck in football, but you can create your own luck.

"So hard work, really sticking at it and believing in yourself and you've always got a chance."

Jamie Currie
Fan writer

Saturday night had the potential to be a tough encounter at St Mirren, but I felt Rangers were well worth the 2-0 victory.

Sometimes away from home we start overly cautiously and allow the opposition to get a foothold in the game - Dundee and Hearts are prime examples of that.

But on Saturday, we came right out of the traps, pressed St Mirren and made our attacking intentions clear.

Before we get on to the missed chances, we have to talk about another decision in Rangers' favour and, of course, as night follows day, there must be a manufactured controversy to go along with it.

James Penrice is clipped by Samuel Ramos in the box. Nick Walsh is right there. Penalty. If the same thing happens in the middle of the pitch, it's a foul, so this nonsense about thresholds and such language being used is just that... nonsense.

Anyway, before that, Ryan Naderi should have put us one up and then took his penalty like a man with confidence. That's 14 goal contributions in 18 games this season.

However, I was more impressed with how he physically dominated Alex Gogic. There are not many players who get the better of him in a physical battle.

We played pretty well. The football was slick when it had to be, with Kim Min-su being at the heart of it again. When Dan Neil made it two, we stepped off and didn't really show the ruthlessness we all wish to see. The xG was 3.34.

I felt Manny Fernandez was excellent again. It was simple defending, and he's finding his form.

Overall, it was a pleasing night - three points, still unbeaten away from home and moving forward nicely.

The clinical edge will elevate this team, but we'll see if it arrives.

We go into the international break in good form and will have to be bang at it when we come back, as we go to Fir Park.

Image source, SNS

Kris Boyd believes Rangers are lacking ruthlessness at the top end of the pitch but has praised his former side for their unbeaten run.

Derek McInnes' side have won 10 and drawn two of their matches since their last defeat.

They are second in the Scottish Premiership and have also reached the League Cup final.

"To go on that run and be unbeaten for a period of time now is incredible because you go back to the start of the season, there's no doubt it was a struggle for Rangers, it was a tough watch," Boyd told BBC Scotland.

"I think now, if you are criticising, it would be a case of Rangers should be killing games off and finishing them and scoring more goals. They're creating chances but I don't see that ruthless forward at the top end of the pitch that's obsessed with goals.

"Overall, there's just something missing at the top end in terms of that killer who wants to get two, three, four goals. It's not possible every single week.

"It's about winning and that's what Rangers are doing right now."

Despite his concerns about McInnes' attack, Boyd was keen to praise Rangers' defensive performances.

"I think there's more of a Derek McInnes DNA about this team now because defensively Rangers look strong," he added.

"They don't look as if they're going to concede many goals."

Image source, SNS

Alex McLeish is impressed with the job Derek McInnes is doing at Rangers.

McInnes, appointed this summer, has led Rangers on a 12-match unbeaten run and they trail Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic by four points, with a game in hand.

Rangers are also through to next month's League Cup final.

McLeish managed Rangers from 2001-06 and won seven trophies, including two league titles.

"It takes a wee bit of time to get things going and there was a wee bit of panic again after five or six games," McLeish told BBC Scotland.

"All of a sudden, the players, they get it - what it takes to play for Rangers, what it takes to win football matches.

"And I really believe that Derek is taking the team in a very, very profitable direction in terms of trophies.

"He's got a lot of quite talented players. There's a few who are there who instantly you recognise, wow he's going to make a difference and that's what you need. They need to realise they can make a difference."

It's almost 25 years to the day McLeish took over from Dick Advocaat at Ibrox and the Scot sought counsel from Ibrox managerial great Walter Smith before taking up the post.

And McLeish said: "The day I went to Ibrox, I said, 'Walter, what do you think?' And he said, 'just win'."

Watch the best of the action from Paisley as Rangers beat St Mirren 2-0. (Available to UK users only)

Image source, SNS

It was important for Rangers to get back to winning ways away from home after two successive draws on the road, midfielder Dan Neil stressed after Saturday's 2-0 defeat of St Mirren.

It followed 2-2 draws with Dundee and Hearts in the Scottish Premiership and the Englishman says it was particularly vital as it comes in the last game before the latest international break.

"It was a big thing that we spoke about before the game - keeping a clean sheet," Neil, who scored Rangers' second goal, said.

"I think everyone played their part in that and it's nice to get a win before this break.

"One of the big things we spoke about again, other than the clean sheets, is coming away from home and putting in a good performance.

"The last two away results and performances really haven't been us. It was important that we didn't have another one of them going into the break and have it lingering over us.

"Coming away from home in any league is tough, but especially this league. The better our away form is, I think the better we're going to stand during the season.

"Our home form speaks for itself, but the last two away results haven't been great for us. So it was important to put that hoodoo of those two results behind us and make sure that we won the game."

We asked for your views after Rangers extended their unbeaten run to 12 games with a 2-0 Premiership win at St Mirren.

Here's what some of you said:

Dave: Scrappy as per usual but its three points and a clean sheet. But we need more goals.

Derek: I agree Ivor Pandur has been one of the best signings we made. You've got confidence in the keeper, whereas Jack Butland was like a car crash waiting to happen. Three points, but what is going on with the defence? Still far to slow build up, sorry Dan Neil you're not a temporary leader on the park. Still nowhere near clinical enough up front. Win ugly but not every week. It's meant to be entertainment.

Paul: Rangers just don't have that real cutting edge. Lots of good link-up play but lack the final killer ball. Ryan Naderi and Kevin Kelsy are good signings, but they're not natural finishers.

Robert: We are just not scoring enough goals.

Davy: Hard-fought three points. It's never going to be pretty, but the midfield and wide players appear to be clicking and giving more service to the front two, but need to be more ruthless in front of goal.

Gerry: Another slogfest, huffed and puffed but couldn't blow the house down, chances created but not converted due to some woeful finishing. On another day it could come back to bite us. It took a debatable penalty to break the deadlock in a game that should have been out of sight long before the second goal finally arrived, and what does Bojan Miovski have to do to get a run in the team? It's baffling.

Goals either side of half-time from Ryan Naderi and Dan Neil earned Rangers victory at St Mirren and took the Ibrox outfit within a point of Celtic at the Scottish Premiership summit.

Read the match report.

Have your say.

Image source, SNS

Rangers manager Derek McInnes: "Very pleased. I thought we deserved to win the game.

"It's traditionally a tough game. St Mirren are a team that can cause problems and I thought our aggression, our tenacity, our approach in the early part was superb.

"We should have scored before we did, but when we did score, it was no more than we deserved. I thought we got a wee bit sloppy after that and it's something we need to get better at, keeping our shoulder to the wheel after we score.

"Loads of chances. It's quite ironic we scored from a penalty and a deflected shot, but some of our work was really clean up until the last part. The players deserve a lot of credit because that was a win that was well fought for, well earned and we're really pleased.

"What becomes a good chance could be a brilliant chance if we just take care with the weight of pass and make the right decision. There are umpteen examples in that game today and it's something we need to improve on. We've got to take ownership that we can do better in these moments. The top players make these decisions at breakneck speed and pick the right pass.

"Ivor [Pandur] has been a brilliant signing for us. His calmness - players have huge faith in him. You never win anything with a poor goalie. We're pleased with the clean sheets - they are vitally important if you're going to be successful.

"It's not been perfect. We've had the draw and Hearts and the draw at Dundee. Our fight is with ourselves to keep improving. If we can keep winning and getting those improvements as we go along, there's hopefully more to come from us."

Rangers still have high hopes for midfielder Vanja Dragojevic despite the 20-year-old big-money summer signing from Partizan Belgrade barely being seen since the Europa League defeat by Jablonec in early August. (Daily Record, external)

Read Saturday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Image source, SNS

St Mirren's Ryan Carr is suspended and fellow midfielder Paul Nsio cannot play against his parent club.

Ismeal Kabia (calf), Nikolas Agrafiotis (calf), Keanu Baccus (Achilles), Malik Dijksteel (hamstring) and Jonah Ayunga (knee) remain out.

Rangers winger Bedredine Bouanani (illness) and defender Emmanuel Fernandez (ankle) are expected to shake off fitness concerns.

Ross McCrorie, Cammy Devlin, Lawrence Shankland (all hamstring), Daisuke Yokota (groin) and Youssef Chermiti (knee) remains out.

Image source, SNS

Derek McInnes has praised "brilliant" Rangers goalkeeper Ivor Pandur and says the Croat's form has gone under the radar.

Since signing from Hull City on a four-year deal in the summer, 26-year-old Pandur has brought a sense of calm to the Rangers defence, which was demonstrated again in the 1-0 League Cup semi-final win over Aberdeen on Saturday.

Prior to the Premiership clash with St Mirren in Paisley on Saturday night, manager McInnes said: "I think he's done so well.

"The fact I don't really get asked a lot about Pandur, he's just so quietly effective, and I think the players hold such a high regard for him and take confidence from him.

"There's nothing worse - I've been there as a player when you're not sure about your goalie and it affects a lot of what's happening on the pitch. But when you know you've got a good one there, it sends out the exact opposite.

"The confidence he sends throughout the team is clear, whether it's dealing with things at his feet, in the air.

"His shot-stopping is unbelievable. I watch him in training - every shot has the same importance. He just wants to keep the ball out of his net and, for me, they're the best types.

"He doesn't try harder for one shot than he does the next one. Everything is 'You're not beating me', I think he plays the game that way. He's been brilliant."

Rangers will face Hibs in the League Cup final next month and McInnes stressed the positives of taking the penultimate step towards the first trophy of the season and of his career as Ibrox boss.

The former Rangers midfielder said: "It's been really as you'd expect. I think you've got to take the good from the game.

"It's not easy getting to a cup final and the fact that we're there now, you've got to try and be pleased with that.

"I think the whole club - I was at the Charity Foundation ball on Sunday - and everybody's so excited about going to the cup final, and that's where we should be.

"We'll look forward to it when it comes around, but it's important now that we just really focus on this game before we get into the break, because it can easily dissipate, all that excitement and optimism, on the back of the next result."

Image source, SNS

Scott Allan believes Saturday night's game at St Mirren is a must-win for Rangers if they're serious about challenging for the title.

Rangers can pile pressure on Celtic, who play Kilmarnock on Sunday, by narrowing the gap at the top to one point with victory in Paisley.

The Ibrox side have failed to win on three of their past four trips to face the Buddies. And while Rangers are in fine from with nine wins in an 11-game unbeaten run, they have drawn half of their six Premiership away matches this season.

Speaking on the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast, former Hibs, Celtic and Dundee United midfielder Allan said: "If Rangers are serious about putting a real title challenge up then these are the sort of games they have to go and win.

"A few weeks ago at Dens Park, Dundee basically dictated how Rangers played in the first half.

"So Rangers will be looking at trying to right that wrong but for St Mirren, I think they would have to get everything right on the night to get something from Rangers."

Allan believes Rangers are set to "click" at the top end of the park and thinks St Mirren have to score the opener if they are to stage an upset.

"Going forward, Rangers look they're just about to click into gear," he said.

"I think Badredine Bouanani coming into the team has brought something different, he's got that eye for a pass and we've not seen that in a Rangers team for a while.

"St Mirren would have to be all but perfect for me and I just feel it'll be a difficult one for them. They would have to score first."