Rangers’ £22k-p/w “cult hero” with 136 appearances Philippe Clement wants to Replace Jack against Ross County

Rangers may bring on a player who has flourished under Clement to replace Jack.

After defeating Ayr United 2-0 over the weekend to advance to the Scottish Cup quarterfinals, Glasgow Rangers maintained their perfect record in 2024.

There’s no rest for the wicked, as they say, and the Light Blues will be back in action this evening at Ibrox against Ross County.

With a victory over the Staggies tonight, the Gers can tie Celtic at the top of the Premiership table on points, and this is obviously all the inspiration the starting XI needs to hear.

Since taking over in October of last year, Philippe Clement has completely changed the club, and he has already brought home one trophy this season. In the next few months, could he pull off what would be a spectacular treble?

Since this tie is their fourth game in 11 days, Clement will undoubtedly make a few changes to his squad in order to maintain the club’s stellar run. The rotation of his squad will be essential.

Ross County vs. Rangers team news

Before tonight’s game against Ross County, Clement addressed the media and provided an update on a few squad members, most notably Ryan Jack and Leon Balogun.

“Leon used a mask for training,” Clement remarked after Balogun withdrew from the match against Livingston due

to a facial injury. “We still need to adjust the mask a little bit. That’s typical at all times; I’ve received some criticism

for it. Thus, we’ll see how he is and whether he can join the squad tomorrow.

“Ryan Jack is still in a sort of individual program to rebuild him, so he won’t be on the squad.”

Even though Jack won’t be playing for the squad this evening, Balogun might not be.

The statistical season of Ryan Jack

The midfield player’s contract at the Ibrox team is coming to an end, and given his history of injuries, is it possible he will leave at the end of the campaign? Jack was once a consistent starter in the starting lineup, but this season he has been more of a rotation option, making just 21 appearances total—just 12 of which have been starts.

This season, Jack’s lowly 11th place ranking for accurate passes per game (26.7) and his 24th and 16th place rankings for tackles per game (0.2) and key passes per game (0.6) respectively, clearly indicate that the 31-year-old has not lived up to expectations even when given a chance in the starting lineup.

Clement’s central midfield area appears stacked with the addition of Mohamed Diomande during the January transfer window, in addition to having access to John Lundstram, Nico Raskin, and even Dujon Sterling.

This may indicate that Jack won’t receive a contract extension, but he still has a lot of work to do before the season ends, particularly since the team is vying for the championship.

But the Belgian manager will have to start Jack against County, which may mean Lundstram returns to the starting lineup after being rested against Ayr the previous weekend.

Ross County will be the opponent for John Lundstram.

Lundstram has been one of the first names on the team sheet since Clement moved to Glasgow, and he has had fantastic performances.

Under the Belgian, the former Sheffield United midfielder has actually only missed one game since then—a 2-0

victory over Motherwell on Christmas Eve—and he has returned to his previous form. Under the former Club Brugge

manager, the Englishman has been a rock in the middle of the midfield and his performances have been crucial to

the Ibrox team’s incredible run, with just one loss since he took over.

It would have been beneficial for him to take a break against Ayr, and he will be thrown back into the starting lineup when County visits Ibrox this evening.

The future of John Lundstram is still unknown.

Similar to Jack, the 29-year-old’s contract expires at the end of the current campaign, but given his performances, Clement will undoubtedly extend it as soon as possible.

Since joining the Gers in the summer of 2021, the £22k-per-week dynamo has made 136 appearances and has established himself as a vital member of the starting lineup.

He struggled in the first few months of his Ibrox career as he adjusted to the physical demands of Scottish football, but he settled in during the team’s incredible run to the 2022 Europa League final.

Before the match against Eintracht Frankfurt, Ibrox legend Ally McCoist hailed Lundstram as a “cult hero,” proving his doubters wrong.

Lundstram faced criticism after a challenging 2022–2023 season in which the Gers were humiliated in the Champions League group stages and failed to win any trophies. However, he has performed admirably under Clement.

The midfielder is clearly showcasing his strengths across a range of performance metrics this season as he currently ranks third overall for the squad in terms of big chances created (four), second overall for accurate long balls per game (5.4), third overall for tackles per game (1.7), and third for accurate passes per game (63.6).

Given these figures, his inclusion in the starting lineup again makes perfect sense. Who will stand with him against County is the question.

Tom Lawrence, who missed the Ayr match as a precaution, may return to the center of the midfield, and Clement also has options with Raskin, Sterling, and Diomande.
Although having this selection headache is not insignificant, the only thing that matters tonight is securing three more points and applying more pressure to Celtic before the weekend.

When Michael Beale was fired a few months ago, not many fans thought the Glasgow Side could contend for the title, but this is evidence of the fantastic work Clement has done since taking over.

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