Ibrox View: Chermiti must surely get better of 81% St Mirren star to help Rangers win

Danny Rohl faces one of nine William Hill Premiership finals as Rangers face St Mirren on Sunday.

The Gers will travel to Paisley on 15 March as the German manager looks to keep his team’s hopes of winning the league title alive.

Youssef Chermiti has proved pivotal to the Light Blues’ recent success and they will need the Portuguese striker to be at it once again at the SMISA Stadium.

Stephen Robinson has left St Mirren, with Craig McLeish, Jamie Langfield and Allan McManus leading the Buddies on an interim basis, and Miguel Freckleton will undoubtedly be someone they will rely on to stop the Glaswegian outfit’s attacks.

Miguel Freckleton season by number ahead of St Mirren vs Rangers

Freckleton has arguably been St Mirren’s best player in the William Hill Premiership this season, averaging a Sofascore rating of 7.13 in 28 appearances.

The 22-year-old centre-back has scored three goals and provided one assist, recording 81 per cent passing accuracy.

With the English defender in the Saints’ starting lineup, they have kept seven clean sheets, with the former Swindon Town ace making 2.2 tackles, 6.6 clearances and recovering the ball 5.4 times per game.

Freckleton is also relatively technically sound for a centre-back, completing 48 per cent of his dribbles and creating two big chances.

The young defender is also defensively dominant, winning 59 per cent of his ground duels and 67 per cent of his aerial duels.

This is where Chermiti will need to be at his best, with the striker winning 51 per cent of his aerial duels in the league this season and missing 10 big chances, something the Glaswegian outfit can’t afford to see him do in Paisley.

Danny Rohl experiment must stop at SMISA Stadium

Rohl has relied on Andreas Skov Olsen since his arrival in the winter transfer window, but that experiment may need to stop.

The Denmark international hasn’t lived up to Rangers fans’ expectations so far and hasn’t had much of an impact up front.

It would make sense to reinstate Djeidi Gassama in the team or change the setup against St Mirren to a back three, with James Tavernier and Tuur Rommens as wing-backs.

Ryan Naderi’s presence seems to bring the best out of Chermiti, and the prospect of playing Mikey Moore behind them in a number 10 role would be fascinating.

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