Glasgow Rangers’ faint hopes of a Premiership title challenge took another hit on Sunday afternoon as they slumped to a disappointing 1-0 loss.
14 months after the Light Blues lost to Killie when they were managed by Michael Beale, it is evident that nothing has changed in that period, as Philippe Clement is failing to get anything out of his current crop of players.
The Belgian faces three crucial games in the next ten days which could determine whether he remains in his post or not.
There was not a single standout performer against Killie, with several players being outfought in the important areas on the pitch, including the heart of the midfield.
John Souttar was far from his best, despite shining for Scotland during the international break, shackling Cristiano Ronaldo during the 0-0 draw against Portugal last week.
John Souttar's performance in numbers vs Killie
The centre-back may have got the best of Ronaldo recently, but he found Killie forward Marley Watkins a difficult character to keep quiet.
Touches
96
Accurate passes
80/88
Total duels (won)
8 (7)
Possession lost
8
Tackles
0
Clearances
3
Statistics can sometimes mask a poor display and that is the case with Souttar against the Rugby Park side. He managed 96 touches and completed 91% of his passes throughout the game, while also winning an impressive seven of his eight contested duels.
Despite this, Watkins ran him ragged during the encounter and his work rate paid off during the dying moments of the tie as Souttar was caught out, which allowed the Killie striker to score what turned out to be the winner.
Matthew Elder, journalist for the Scotsman, gave Souttar a match rating of just 4/10 for his performance, and he is going to need to cut out the mistakes ahead of what looks like the most important stretch in the club’s season.
Although he has been at Ibrox since 2022, Souttar has yet to convince a large section of the supporters with his performances. The bonus is, that the defender isn’t earning a fortune at the club, plus he helps with the Scottish contingent for the European quotas.
The former Hearts defender is one of the lowest paid first-team squad members, currently earning £8.1k-per-week at the Light Blues.
Signing players who will offer some value to the squad without paying them a fortune is the aim of any Rangers manager, with the move for Souttar in 2022 making sense in this regard.
The centre-back earns less than the likes of Tom Lawrence, Rabbi Matondo and Ridvan Yilmaz, all players who have struggled with consistency during their time in Glasgow.
There is one player in particular who is also earning more than Souttar but is way below the standard of quality required to challenge for the title; Kieran Dowell.
Why Rangers need to sell Kieran Dowell
Towards the end of the 2022/23 campaign, Michael Beale was keen on getting a head start with regard to his transfer business as he sought to begin his rebuild at the Gers.
One of the first players to join that summer was Dowell, who agreed a pre-contract agreement in May, with Beale praising the midfielder, saying: “I am delighted to welcome Kieran to Rangers. He already has great experience in his career, with a number of Premier League appearances, and he is a player we feel will fit well into our squad and our style of football.”
On the surface, it looked like a smart move. Dowell had played for both Everton and Norwich City during his career and, with strength in depth required, the Englishman was a relatively risk-free signing.
It didn’t take long for the supporters to realise that Dowell wasn’t exactly Rangers material.
The former Everton academy graduate didn’t quite feature as often as he would have liked during his maiden season in Glasgow.
Overall, he made just 17 appearances, with only five of these coming from the starting XI. The midfielder did score twice, against Livingston and Motherwell in the Premiership, but chances were few and far between.
He was even left out of the Europa League group-stage squad, further hindering his chances under Beale.
Things didn’t exactly get better with Clement, as he was only used sparingly, aside from a four-game spell during the festive season, as injuries and suspensions hampered the squad.
The midfielder failed to even rank in the top 15 among the Rangers squad for accurate passes and key passes per game in the top flight last term, and his chances have been few and far between throughout the current campaign.
Dowell has played only nine times under Clement in 2024/25, with only two of these appearances coming from the starting XI. It is evident that the Belgian needs to move him on sooner rather than later, especially considering how much he is being paid…
Kieran Dowell’s wage at Rangers
The midfielder is currently earning £16k-per-week at the Light Blues, which is double what Souttar is earning, despite the Englishman operating on the periphery of the squad.
This has been part of the problem at the club for a long time now, signing players who fail to live up to the expectations while they continue to earn a staggering wage, thus draining the club of vital resources.
It looked like Clement was intent on solving this during the summer, moving on the likes of Connor Goldson and Sam Lammers. The fact Dowell is still part of the squad is scarcely believable and, hopefully, he will move on before too long.
Much will depend on whether there are any potential suitors for the player, but even securing a minimal fee for him would surely be a bonus, especially since Beale didn’t pay a penny to secure his signature a year ago.
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