James McFadden destroys Rangers’ John Souttar after ‘nightmare’ Scotland moment vs Greece
Rangers star John Souttar was under the spotlight for all the wrong reasons during Scotland’s World Cup qualifier against Greece.
Souttar’s contract is set to expire at the end of the season, with reports suggesting that the centre-back could pen new terms at Ibrox, but fans might be hoping for the opposite ahead of the summer.
Even after Danny Rohl’s arrival at Rangers, the 29-year-old has remained a key part of the squad, joined by Derek Cornelius and James Tavernier in the centre of defence.
The new manager will certainly have an eye on his international players, with Nico Raskin in action for Belgium on Saturday, 15 November, but he might be looking through his fingers at the Scotland game.
John Souttar messes up in the build-up to Greece opener
Just seven minutes into the game, with Greece already out of contention for World Cup qualification, Scotland went 1-0 down to Anastasios Bakasetas, and Souttar certainly played his part in the goal.
Speaking live on BBC Sportscene (15 November, 7:53pm), James McFadden said: “That is a nightmare. John Souttar initially totally misjudges the flight of the ball. He’s got to take control of the situation.
“This is a really good save from Craig Gordon, getting down to his left-hand side. It’s not good enough. Grant Hanley isn’t aggressive enough. It’s a great shift and a good finish.
“Gordon has no chance on that one, but it’s just far too easy. The question was, ‘Were Greece going to be up for this game? Were they going to make it tough?’ Well, you can see what it means to them.”
Everyone at Rangers are under pressure this season
Souttar’s struggles on the pitch are unlikely to be the most of everyone’s worries this season, with Rangers having to protect Rohl from the outside noise at Ibrox.
The supporters continue to point fingers at the hierarchy, with protests taking place outside of the stadium, and nothing appears to be cooling down anytime soon.
Defending is certainly one of the team’s weaknesses, and has been for quite some time. Watching Souttar on international duty will do very little to make Rohl believe in the players in his squad.
The main issue is that the Gers have very limited experienced options across the board, so if the manager wants to stop using Souttar, he will need money to reinforce the team in January.