Rangers' subtle switches reaping Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos rewards, says ex-Ibrox defender

Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s managerial reign at Rangers has started well – with seven games unbeaten and just two goals conceded.
Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent have been revitalised, says Alan Hutton. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent have been revitalised, says Alan Hutton. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)
Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent have been revitalised, says Alan Hutton. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)

And the style of play, as well as the statistics have caught the eye, says former Ibrox defender Alan Hutton.

The defender, who left the club for a record transfer fee and signed for Tottenham in 2008, believes tactical tweaks by van Bronckhorst is exploiting the talents of Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos – and moving Rangers away from the possession-based game deployed by Steven Gerrard and Michael Beale.

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The defender has welcomed “mixing it up” and Kent’s wide play in particular has caught his eye. The Englishman scored against St Johnstone in midweek after being teed up by the Colombian striker, and Morelos himself found the net in the 2-0 win after scoring the opener against Hearts at the weekend.

Hutton told Football Insider: “The difference I can see from Gerrard’s tenure is they don’t mind going forward really quickly.

“Rangers are going from back to front awful quickly and making good opportunities. You can see that from the second goal against Hearts.

“Things like Ryan Kent being able to play as a winger. I think that’s where you’ll see the best of Morelos, getting opportunities and scoring goals.

“I think that’s probably one of the subtle differences that we’re seeing. Rangers before were very possession-based, everything was through the middle, wingers were tucked inside.

“It was trying to be very pretty. Make the nice goals, cutbacks for tap-ins and things. This can be amazing and gives the opposition something different to think about.”

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