Glasgow Rangers have allowed the Scottish Premiership title to slip away from them once again, as their rivals are one matchday away from sealing their fourth successive league success.
The Light Blues, who are not in domestic action this weekend because they have already been knocked out of the SFA Cup, are 15 points behind their city rivals with just five games to play.
This means that Rangers would have to win all five of their games and Celtic would have to lose all five of their matches, with a goal difference swing of 43 needed, for the Gers to win the league.
Barry Ferguson is currently in interim charge until the end of the season and he has done little in the Premiership to further his cause for the job in the long term, drawing 2-2 with Aberdeen last time out in the Premiership.
In that draw, Rangers needed a last-gasp equaliser from Ianis Hagi, who scored a stunning goal to make it 2-2, to avoid a fourth defeat in six league games for Ferguson.
The Light Blues did, however, do well to earn a 2-2 draw after they found themselves 2-0 down and down to ten men after Ross McCausland’s red card.
Why Ross McCausland was sent off against Aberdeen
It should be acknowledged that the Northern Ireland international was not put into an ideal situation by Ferguson as he started the match as a right wing-back.
The young forward, who had only started three league games this season prior to that match, is a winger by trade and is, therefore, not used to defending one-on-one situations or covering the space behind him.
There was no right-back to help him out in the wide areas, as there would be when he plays on the wing in front of a back four, and this left him completely exposed defensively.
This meant that he was consistently finding himself in positions – chasing back after wingers with no support – that he was not used to, which led to several poor challenges trying to correct his positional mistakes.
Irrespective of his lack of experience in those areas of the pitch, McCausland has made 66 appearances for the first-team and should know better than to make a challenge like the one in the clip above whilst on a yellow card, as you run a risk of a red card no matter what part of the pitch you are in.
This means that his red card was as much his own fault as it was Ferguson’s for putting him in that position to begin with, and the Gers now have a decision to make over his future.
Why Rangers should move on from Ross McCausland
The Scottish giants must ruthlessly cash in on the 21-year-old forward in the upcoming summer transfer window because he has failed to prove himself to be a valuable member of the squad.
McCausland, as aforementioned, has played 66 times for Rangers and is yet to establish himself as a regular in the team, with just four Premiership starts this term.
The Northern Irish attacker, who came up through the academy system in Glasgow, has failed to kick on since emerging as a first-team option under Philippe Clement last season, and is now surplus to requirements.
Appearances
29
13
Starts
15
4
Goals
3
0
Key passes per game
1.4
0.6
Big chances created
3
0
Assists
4
1
As you can see in the table above, McCausland was an average performer at the top end of the pitch last term, and has offered very little to the team in the current campaign – with as many red cards as goal contributions (one).
The Light Blues need better quality in the wide areas moving forward, which is why they should sell the youngster this summer, and that is why they should regret cashing in on Fashion Sakala during Michael Beale’s time at Ibrox.
Why Rangers messed up with Fashion Sakala
Back in the summer of 2023, the former Gers head coach decided to revamp his attack and opted to sell Antonio Colak and Sakala, who was sold to Al-Fayha for a reported fee of £4m.
The versatile attacker, who can play through the middle as a centre-forward or on either flank as a winger, was ruthlessly ditched by Beale despite a return of 12 goals and eight assists in all competitions for the Gers in the 2022/23 campaign.
Appearances
29
Starts
22
Goals
12
Big chances created
7
Assists
7
Dribbles completed per game
1.9
Dribble success rate
51%
As you can see in the table above, Sakala was a constant threat at the top end of the pitch in the Premiership with 19 goal contributions in 22 starts, which made the decision to move him on that summer a strange one.
The Zambia international was not a perfect player, as he was erratic in his use of the ball at times, but he could always provide a spark in matches, hence why Alan Hutton once described him as a “firework” for Rangers.
Sakala was miles better than McCausland at the time, shown by his output in the Premiership, and that has not changed since his move to Saudi Arabia.
The 28-year-old dynamo has scored 29 goals and provided 15 assists in 68 appearances in all competitions for Al-Fayha since his exit from Ibrox, including seven goals and four assists in 24 league matches this term.
These statistics show that Sakala has continued to provide a constant threat at the top end of the pitch as both a scorer and a creator of goals during his time in Saudi Arabia, having also done so in Scotland.
This means that the Zambian speedster continues to be miles better than McCausland, who has failed to deliver consistent quality in his senior career to date, and is showing why Rangers messed up by selling him to Al-Fayha in 2023.
Not just McCausland: £3.4m flop must never start for Rangers again
Rangers will need to move a few players on this summer to raise funds.
ByRoss KilvingtonApr 14, 2025
The Gers lost a quality and versatile attacking option when they decided to move on from Sakala in 2023, and now they have struggled to find similar quality in that position in the present day.
