Glasgow Rangers saw their Premiership title ambitions take a damaging hit on Wednesday evening at Dens Park.
The 0-0 draw against Dundee was the third attempt of the game finally being played following two prior postponements, but the Light Blues lacked any sort of intensity or hunger to make up for their woeful defeat to Ross County last weekend.
Philippe Clement’s men have come unstuck at the worst possible time as they now trail Celtic by three points after failing to win their game in hand against Dundee.
League duty takes a back seat for the Light Blues as a Scottish Cup semi-final against Hearts awaits on Sunday. Lose that, however, and the campaign will be all but over.
There must be some sweeping changes ahead of the clash against Hearts, especially with some of the performances by the senior players in midweek, who let both the club and the manager down when it mattered most.
James Tavernier and John Lundstram were poor, yet it was Connor Goldson who endured yet another dismal performance at the heart of the defence.
Connor Goldson’s game in numbers vs Dundee
The centre-back had featured in the previous two games which saw the Gers concede six goals and fail to win against both Celtic and Ross County, with his influence continuing to deteriorate.
Leon Balogun was ill for the clash against the Dens Park side, so Goldson was once again chosen in the starting XI by Clement. While a clean sheet was kept for the first time in the top flight since a 5-0 win over Hearts at the end of February, Goldson’s lack of intensity or desire was worrying.
Accurate passes
53/69
Total duels (won)
15 (13)
Possession lost
16
Touches
77
Long balls (accurate)
11 (6)
The Englishman may have won 13 of his 15 total contested duels during the match, but his distribution was poor yet again.
Not only did he complete just six of his 11 long ball attempts, but throughout the game, Goldson completed just 53 of his 69 passes – a success rate of just 77% – as he looked sloppy on the ball.
Indeed, the defender managed to lose possession 16 times and considering he took 77 touches in the 90 minutes, this works out as him losing the ball once every 4.8 touches, further evidence of another poor showing.
Journalist Lewis Anderson from Glasgow World gave him a rating of 5/10 for his display while stating that he looked ‘a tad shaky early on under pressure’ before claiming that Goldson ‘just doesn’t seem to be the player he was a few seasons ago at the moment’ – and it is hard to argue with any of that.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t just the 31-year-old who underperformed in Dundee on Wednesday evening, and it looks like Clement has a major job on his hands during the summer transfer window.
Thankfully, a few players are out of contract at the end of the season, which will see the club save around £90k-per-week on wages should all six depart Ibrox.
Kemar Roofe is one of the six and after his woeful showing against Dundee, he shouldn’t be near the starting XI again between now and the end of the campaign.
Kemar Roofe's performance against Dundee
The striker has endured his fair share of injury issues at Rangers, not just this season, but across his entire four-year stint, which has limited his impact.
Prior to the Dundee match, Roofe had played just 22 times for the first team in 2023/24, with only eight of them starts, scoring twice in the process.
The 31-year-old has missed 25 matches due to recurring injuries, yet he is taking home a staggering £26k-per-week for his efforts.
Deployed from the first whistle in midweek, Roofe completed just eight passes, lost possession eight times and managed just one shot, which was off target.
He did succeed with 100% of his dribble attempts and ground duels, but in terms of trying to make things happen in the final third, he lacked any sort of urgency.
Hooked after 56 minutes, the centre-forward was given a dismal 2/10 rating by Glasgow World, with Anderson stating that he was ‘dreadful’ having managed just one touch in the opposition box during his spell on the pitch.
Any hopes of a late burst of inspiration to steer the Gers to another league title have certainly been dashed after his latest display, and he will be a free agent in a matter of weeks.
Kemar Roofe’s Rangers statistics
His four-season spell in Glasgow has seen the player make just 100 appearances, missing a grand total of 96 games through a succession of injury issues.
Roofe has scored 38 goals and grabbed seven assists since arriving at Ibrox in the summer of 2020, managing to impress when it mattered most.
Who could forget his extra-time winner against Braga during the Europa League quarter-final clash in 2022? Or his stunning goal from the halfway line against Standard Liege in the midst of a monsoon during his first season.
Even last term, when suffering from countless knocks, he still netted an extra-time winner to knock Aberdeen out of the League Cup and secure a final spot for the Gers.
These moments have been fleeting, however, with his impact in his final couple of seasons being hampered by a body that has just accumulated too much scar tissue.
On his day, Roofe was arguably the finest centre-forward Rangers could call upon. He was smart, could drop deep and play out wide if required, whilst also having the knack for scoring incredible goals.
With his contract expiring this summer, it is time for both Roofe and Rangers to part ways and, if he can get himself fit, there is no doubt he will find himself another club sooner rather than later.
Off the back of his showing against Dundee, however, Clement must avoid unleashing him again during the remaining matches, as he was non-existent at Dens Park.
It would be a shame if this is how things ended, but the Belgian coach must be ruthless if he wants to drag the Light Blues back into a title battle.
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