Rangers stats showcase why Thelo Aasgaard striker experiment failed vs St Mirren
Russell Martin will come in for questioning after a tactical plan failed to materialise in their match against St Mirren, adding further pressure on the Rangers manager.
Rangers drew 1-1 with St Mirren, grabbing a late point in Paisley courtesy of a Findlay Curtis strike.
The result extends Rangers‘ winless run in the Scottish Premiership to three games, with the Glasgow derby against Celtic next in the league.
Cyriel Dessers was out due to injury, and Martin elected to start attacking midfielder Thelo Aasgaard as a striker over Danilo or Hamza Igamane who were both on the bench.
Data shows Aasgaard suffered against Saints
Aasgaard was playing against a defensively resilient St Mirren back five and the Norwegian received little service despite Rangers dominating possession.
The 23-year-old, signed in the summer from Luton, was making his first start for the club after making two previous substitute appearances against Club Brugge and Alloa.
Martin replaced Aasgaard with Mohammed Diomande after 65 minutes following his ineffective display.
| Minutes Played | 65 |
| Touches | 30 |
| Touches in the opposition box | 2 |
| Shots | 2 |
| Big Chances Missed | 1 |
Rangers have only scored three goals in three league games, and Martin has started a different player up-front in all of them.
Danilo was let down by his Rangers team mates at Motherwell, suggesting this is a big problem in Martin’s possession based approach.
Martin must work out attacking formula
In the Scottish Premiership and in Europe, Rangers have proven to be ineffective under Martin as an attacking force.
With a trip to Club Brugge on the horizon where Rangers will need to score two goals to stand a chance of turning the tie around, Martin must quickly figure out his strongest front line.
Martin’s side has had no issues keeping possession, but there defensive woes are making it hard to win matches amid their struggles in attack.
The Gers may relish a fixture next week against their fierce rivals Celtic where the Hoops will head to Ibrox with an attacking mindset rather than with the intention of sitting in a low block.
That could provide more opportunities for Rangers, but the St Mirren match shows that Martin needs to start with a natural number nine and Aasgaard should not be used in the striker role.