Ibrox View: 0% Rangers strugger blows big chance to win back Rohl after Dundee United errors

John Souttar put in a display to forget during Rangers‘ 4-2 victory against Dundee United.

Danny Rohl‘s side moved to the top of the Scottish Premiership for the first time in two years after clinching all three points at Ibrox to leapfrog Hearts on Saturday.

However, it was far from plain sailing, with a shaky performance from Souttar, restored to the heart of the defence, encapsulating a nervy afternoon at the office for the Gers.

While they were ultimately able to get the job done, there remain major question marks over the veteran centre-back’s role in the starting XI – and indeed, the squad.

Rohl will closely analyse the win over Dundee before making a decision on Souttar, but watching on from a distance, Emmanuel Fernandez may have had a wry smile on his face.

How did John Souttar perform against Dundee United?

Souttar was certainly culpable in the lead-up to Amar Fatah’s goal on the stroke of half-time, having shown the attacker inside before he rifled an effort beyond Jack Butland.

Judging from that mistake, it was clear to see why Rohl chose to bench him for three consecutive matches before the international break, with Fernandez partnering Nasser Djiga.

But Fernandez was instead an unused substitute in Glasgow, perhaps due to his international breakthrough – and first goal – for Nigeria in mid-week.

While Souttar’s statistics against Dundee United were reasonable, he was too sloppy in crucial moments and clearly can’t be trusted not to make critical errors during the title run-in.

According to Sofascore, he attempted one tackle but didn’t win it, while his seven clearances and two blocked shots papered over the cracks of an otherwise concerning showing.

On a more positive note, Souttar won three of his five aerial duels, a reasonable output, and completed 79 of his 83 passes, an impressive 95 per cent success rate.

In a nutshell, the numbers demonstrate that while he should not be a guaranteed starter, especially not ahead of Fernandez and Djiga, he remains a valuable squad player.

Rangers have defensive issues

What the 29-year-old can’t be blamed for are the wider defensive failings.

It was a match of two contrasting takeaways, with Gers now unbeaten in 15 in the league while being too easily picked apart. So far, they haven’t found the answers for the latter.

Rohl’s backline was alarmingly stretched on too many occasions and was all at sea on the break, resulting in two more goals being shipped on home territory.

That could prove pivotal in May.

Now, it is just one clean sheet in eight. Souttar has played in six of those matches and will shoulder some responsibility, but clearly, there are structural issues that must be fixed.

Despite Souttar signing a new Rangers contract until 2027, his future at Ibrox is far from certain. Unfortunately for him, his showing on Saturday did nothing to quieten the noise.

Updated 24/7 with expert analysis from the heart of Govan.