Scott Arfield and Joe Aribo temptation for Rangers boss - but decisions pay off

Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst admitted he was tempted to start both Scott Arfield and Joe Aribo against Livingston on Wednesday night.

Rangers' Scott Arfield celebrates at full time after his goal earned a 1-0 win over Livingston. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

Arfield stepped off the bench on his return from injury to score the 75th minute winner that maintained Rangers’ four-point lead over Celtic in the Premiership title race in his first appearance since Boxing Day.

Joe Aribo, however, was left out of the squad altogether after making his return from the African Cup of Nations following Nigeria’s exit at the hands of Tunisia in the round of 16 on Sunday.

Their absences, along with that of Alfredo Morelos, called up for Colombia duty, and Ryan Kent, suspended following his red card against Aberdeen, were keenly felt as Rangers toiled to break down Livingston resistance.

Van Bronckhorst admitted he gave consideration to starting both players but was pleased his decisions paid off with a vital victory. On whether he was tempted to start Arfield, the Rangers boss replied: “In an ideal world yes. But I think we have to be smart as well with our players coming back from injury.

“It’s tempting to put Scott in from the first minute but I think we did well.

“For me, it was also tempting to put Joe [Aribo] straight away in the team but he’s had two days of flying back from Africa.

“Those are the decisions you have to take because it’s not only the game tonight. We play many more games in the coming weeks and sometimes you haven to be thinking a little bit rational and say ‘okay this is the smart thing to do.’

“But of course if you score in the 75th minute, you know you only have 15 minutes left.

“We were pushing for the goal. After it went 1-0, we had some chances to score the second goal but in the end three points count.”

Arfield was introduced in the 59th minute in place of James Sands, who started alongside Glen Kamara in a defensive midfield duo, playing behind 18-year-old Alex Lowry, who impressed again on his second senior start.

"You are also looking of course at which players you have available. We don’t have many midfield players,” van Bronckhorst said as he explained the decision to start with two defensive midfielders.

“That’s why I gave Alex the chance to start. We miss the qualities he has now in the squad. So it was very important for me to play with him. With James and Kamara, we wanted to give our full-backs more chance to go up, especially in the wide areas. But we had to change that when the game progressed.

"I knew I had Scott for the last half hour. That’s why I could play with two midfielders a little bit higher up. It was also a little bit to do with the players who were available. For Saturday, I have Joe back and Scott can play. And Alex, of course, so I have more choice.

"In the end, we were happy with the win, especially the last 10-15 minutes with Jack coming in and Scott also in the game. You could see we were stronger. I am happy for Scott that he made the winner, not only for himself but also for us as a team and as a club.”

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