Nicolas Raskin must be Rangers' front and centre to address key issue

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Death, taxes and, one would hope, changes to the Rangers starting 11 from last weekend’s cup final defeat at Hampden.

Michael Beale pinpointed “a big shift in the energy we have on the pitch each matchday” as something that needs to change in the autopsy that followed further Old Firm failure.

This isn’t a situation whereby a manager grants his team another shot the following weekend – a clean slate to go and correct previous shabby work. By common consensus, Beale was wrong to not play the January arrivals he so publicly demanded in favour of continuity.

Saturday's meeting with Kilmarnock must act as a breaker between Beale’s Rangers and the version he inherited, with Nico Raskin front and centre.

It’s such a blatantly obvious statement that typing it out feels somewhat pointless. Will anyone traipsing towards Ibrox have left the Belgian out of their drafted 11?

It’s not just the sighting of someone new in a position whose occupants otherwise feel so familiar. During two starts to date, Raskin has moved the ball quicker than it’s flown from the Ibrox engine room in months. There can be no more phasing in process, Sunday showed there’s no value to gradual change. 

Beale’s best hope is that Cantwell, Raskin and others re-energise a squad that requires “really good work” done in the summer, as the manager conceded in his recent press conference.

He referenced on Thursday the “ hell of a lot of work” Sunday’s first half showed him was still left to do; through recruitment, development and promotion from within.

Additions are required in every category but in Raskin, Beale already has the player he can build his midfield around in the building.

Even a brief cameo at Hampden, admittedly coming after Alfredo Morelos' goal which altered the game’s flow and saw the Ibrox side chasing an equaliser, demonstrated enough to prove that.

The fact that Raskin and Todd Cantwell had only played opponents where Rangers held the majority of possession was one of the reasons offered up by Beale for their place on the bench last weekend.

However, operating at the base of midfield in the Scottish Premiership will predominantly see Raskin face such game states. Yes, he’ll be in the side to stop counterattacks and progress play forwards, but more often than not his job will be focused on creation, not prevention. 

“He is not a sitting, holding midfielder like Sergio Busquets. That doesn’t define him. I think he needs to be able to move forwards. He can work in a double pivot. But needs to be a guy who can be one step further, and is also able to get on the ball a bit higher in the final third,” his former manager Luka Elsner previously told the Rangers Review.

As seen in games against Partick and Livingston, the former Standard Liege man can run beyond and break lines. This isn’t a player who holds fort in front of the defence, ambling side-to-side and keeping the game comfortably ahead of the opposition.

READ MORE: What we learned from Nico Raskin's full Premiership debut 

On a couple of occasions in the cup final, these safe passes (highlighted in red) were missed out in favour of a more ambitious option that bypassed a greater number of opponents.

Fashion Sakala failed to hold his run appropriately in this example, but nonetheless, it was encouraging to see Raskin break the line on his weaker side.

It’s the type of pass that could come in handy on a regular basis facing packed domestic defences.

Late on, Raskin's running beyond from deep fashioned a chance by way of a deflection.

This movement from the base of midfield matters because it’s hard for opponents to track, as an assist for Antonio Colak against Partick Thistle evidenced.

Admittedly, Raskin arrived into a game that required hurried, risky actions but all the early signs suggest this will translate regardless of the occasion.

His proclivity to win the ball back and press aggressively was well-documented prior to a deadline-day move. It’s the Belgian’s technical ability and tendencies to also make an impact in the final third that categories this transfer as such an exciting one.

Beale’s admission about the energy that's been missing on the pitch articulates grumblings that have long ruminated around Ibrox on a matchday.

Games aren’t started fast enough and often tail off once a lead has been established. Periods of dominance ebb and flow without putting the points out of total reach.

Raskin cannot singlehandedly solve those problems, but his inclusion can start to address them.