Ally McCoist was left unimpressed by Hamza Igamane on his misfiring night at Ibrox – as he served the striker it up straight.
Rangers roared into the top eight in the Europa League table after beating Union Saint Gilloise 2-1. That means a last 16 showdown next month against the FC Twente, Bodo/Glimt, Fenerbahce or Anderlecht. Nico Raskin and Vaclav Cerny were on target, but it was Igamane who was singled out by the Gers’ record goalscorer, and not in a positive way.
If there’s one man who knows what is required to lead the line in Light Blue, it’s McCoist. And there were numerous occasions where he was left tearing his hair out at the Moroccan’s decision making or execution. After losing the ball midway through his own half, McCoist was let him have it, saying: “That’s Igamane giving it away again. He’s got to get a hold of it. Take it, if you are going to take it in that area, it is an area you can’t lose it. I know he likes to take players on but you can’t lose it 30-yards from your own goal. It’s not on that.”
When Igamane cut inside and fired low drive wide of the far post in the second half, instead of bearing down on goal, McCoist had more feedback: “Interesting, maybe I’ve got that totally wrong but I think he needs to make a beeline for a goal, I don’t think he is direct enough.
Igamane making a mess of a simple ball that would have had Ross McCausland in on goal set McCoist off again: “That is slack Rory, that is slack. Lazy. It is lazy outside of the right foot. Not for me that, that is a real opportunity, a real opportunity. It is laziness.
“It might sound a little bit harsh on Igamane but he’s got to do better. I am telling you. He’s struggled. There is no doubting his talent and he’s been excellent but not tonight. That is so slack, it really is. Just knock it with the inside of your foot and let the player go through on goal.”
And the final straw for McCoist was ignoring Jefte in favour of a cross-field pass that was cut out: “I can’t believe he doesn’t use Jefte. I cannot believe he doesn’t not use Jefte. And I can’t believe Jefte isn’t telling him. He’s looking at the bench, having a go. But dear me. You’ve just got to play it inside the full-back and let Jefte run on to it. Just give him it. Dear me.”