Lawrence Shankland's Impact on Rangers' Season

Lawrence Shankland is “too good not to score regularly” and will shape Rangers’ season whether he starts or not. Derek McInnes is adamant on that point.

The Rangers manager watched his side finally ignite their campaign with a 5-1 dismantling of St Mirren in the League Cup, their first win of the season, and did it with his captain on the bench. Shankland, signed to be the focal point and the figurehead, came on as a substitute and has just one goal in five appearances since arriving at Ibrox.

McInnes backs his captain

“When you have a player like Lawrence, who knows his way around the penalty box and how to score goals, I do not worry too much about it,” McInnes said.

“Sometimes people can over emphasise these things. For me, it is a case of letting him play his natural game.

“The best strikers have that instinctive side to their game, where everything looks natural and seamless. I have no doubt he will do well here.”

McInnes knows exactly what Shankland can do. The 31-year-old hit 22 goals for Hearts last season under his management, a ruthless, penalty-box finisher who carried much of the scoring burden. That history gives the Rangers boss a calmness that the Ibrox stands may not always share if the goals do not flow immediately.

On Sunday, he made the call to leave his captain out of the starting XI. Ryan Naderi got the nod up front and justified it, opening the scoring in the 5-1 win. Nico Raskin wore the armband instead.

McInnes had trailed that possibility when he first spoke to Shankland.

“I said that when I spoke to Lawrence,” he explained. “Being captain does not guarantee anything, and he accepted that. He is not going to stamp his feet about it.

“Having worked with Lawrence before, he is a brilliant captain and a brilliant boy. You want your captain to have a big influence on and off the pitch, and I believe Lawrence will have that.”

So Shankland’s influence, McInnes insists, will stretch beyond the teamsheet. The armband, the dressing-room standards, the example in training – all of it counts, even on the days when his name is not first on the team sheet.

Raskin praised amid transfer noise

While Shankland’s role is being carefully managed, another key figure sits in the middle of a different kind of uncertainty.

Nico Raskin has been heavily linked with a move away, his name a regular feature of the transfer rumour mill. At 25, with his profile rising, the expectation around him is obvious. McInnes, though, is adamant that none of that has seeped into the Belgian’s performances or preparation.

“Every player's got a price,” McInnes said. “Every player has got a time where it maybe suits them to move on, suits the club or whatever.

“But I think it's important for me to say that Nico's been a dream since we came in, in terms of how he's set about his work, and he doesn't look like a boy who's distracted in any way with that.

“I've no doubt there's a lot of stuff going on in the background with him. I just need to play it by ear really to be honest. I'm enjoying working with him.”

On Sunday, Raskin not only started, he captained the side. In a week where his future continues to be debated, McInnes handed him responsibility, not respite.

European test on the horizon

Domestic confidence restored, Rangers now step straight into European jeopardy.

Jablonec arrive at Ibrox on Thursday for the first leg of a Conference League play-off tie, bringing with them a six-game winning streak and the kind of form that demands respect. McInnes is not interested in labelling favourites.

“It's difficult to really assess who are the favourites,” he admitted. The focus, as he sees it, is clear. “It's just a game that we put the emphasis on ourselves to go and win.”

He has done his homework.

“They're clearly a well-organised team. They've got a few good individuals who can make the game a bit more problematic for you, but we feel as though we've got a good handle on what they are.

“They can change from shape to shape a lot even within the same personnel so we've got to be ready for that.”

The message to his players is simple: hit their own level and let the rest take care of itself.

“I'm just really trying to concentrate on us finding our level and us getting big performances. If we can do that then, although I'm expecting a tough game, I expect it to be tougher for them.”

A captain searching for his scoring rhythm, a midfielder playing through the noise, and a European tie that could set the tone for the months ahead. Rangers have their first win. Now comes the real examination of what McInnes’ side can be.