Vaclav Cerny made a bolt to the crowd before a beeline for his manager.

The 26-year-old was making amends at the scene of the crime. On Thursday night at the Broomloan end, he’d contrived to, somehow, miss a gaping net that would’ve earned a lead against Lyon. Minutes later when Alexandre Lacazette had a free shot and goalkeeper ahead of him the French side were in front with a lead that wouldn’t lapse. On a night full of harsh lessons, it was a reminder that you can’t punch upwards in European competition if you miss such moments, and it was a further sign of Cerny struggling to settle at Rangers.

Sunday night was the best the on-loan Wolfsburg winger has looked since a debut game and goal against Motherwell. On that day at Hampden Cerny chopped inside and found the far corner with such ease that you expected him to make it a habit. As materialised, it has taken the Czech Republic international time to replicate the incisiveness shown in a 2-0 win over St Johnstone. After, somewhat undiplomatically, disagreeing with supporters when substituted against Hibs between missing a one-on-one away at Malmo and that open goal against Lyon, Cerny needed a game to bolster confidence in himself and amongst those watching on.

"For me, it's all about giving [the manager] this trust he has in me back, but also back to the guys, because in the past weeks, I've missed big chances,” he told reporters after the win in a revealing and honest interview.

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"Obviously, those big chances, I woke up in the night like, 'Oh, I shouldn't miss those.' So it helps for a striker, for a winger, to make those two goals after such a tough period.

"I have three goals now, but it could have been six already,” he added when pressed on the fact that things weren’t all that bad. "I'm just showing you how I'm thinking, so I always demand the best from me, and those two chances I've missed were big ones, and I know that, but it's in the past, so it's three now, and let's go on."

Cerny wasn’t helped in the short term by the expectations that followed his debut from a support starved of attacking quality in recent years. After all, a month’s holiday on the back of Euro 2024 had left the forward weeks behind in pre-season.

That argument could only hold for so long, especially given the fact that Cerny was brought to Ibrox to perform here and now, not in the future. Unlike most of the other loan signings made since Nils Koppen’s arrival as head of football recruitment, there’s no option attached to the end of this season. The fact he’s contracted to a Bundesliga outfit until 2027, whom he joined for a fee to the tune of 8 million Euros in 2023, is a marker of the quality Cerny undoubtedly carries but has struggled to demonstrate in moments. In 2022/23 the winger managed 15 goals and 13 assists in the Eredivisie, coming third for goal involvements throughout the division.

In an attacking unit that’s carrying injuries and struggling for end product, Clement needs his on-loan option to provide and do so now. But the mental side of playing for Rangers can weigh heavily on some who require confidence to play on the edge and trust their instinct. While Sam Lammers, who moved to Cerny’s old club FC Twente this summer, starred in a stronger quality league returning to Dutch football last season, he did not have the mental fortitude to survive at Rangers.

Ron Jans, who managed Lammers at Utrecht last season and Cerny during his best season at FC Twente, told the Rangers Review upon the latter’s arrival: “Sometimes when he is not playing [Cerny] can make things difficult for himself because he wants to fight back and work hard and his body language can be disappointed. As a coach, he is a really great guy to work with though and he’s more mature now. Vaclav just needs two things, confidence and a good relationship with the coach and the crowd.”

“For someone like me, who is always willing to give my all, and sometimes I show it too much, as we all saw,” Cerny added, admitting his recent moment with the Ibrox crowd was ill-advised. 

"But that's just me because I want to do as best as I can every single time, and once you guys get to know me a bit better, you will see that.”

At times, Cerny has lacked the type of driving pace and power from right-back to bring out his best form. Cerny isn’t a player with blistering speed or strength and more often than not, James Tavernier is remaining inside the pitch as opposed to overlapping. That has allowed defenders to call the winger’s bluff, knowing no run will come on the outside and thus limiting his threat on the inside.

Especially given Rangers are without a wide option on the left, Cerny is required to hug the right-wing to provide width and stretch the opposition's defence. Look at Rangers’ pass network from their win over Hibs, overloading the left side and isolating Cerny on the right.

(Image: StatsBomb) Consider where he received the ball on that afternoon, often in deep areas and rarely in the half-space. 

(Image: StatsBomb) Again, to quote his former manager, Cerny is “at his best moving first from the outside instead of the inside”, not when he’s glued to the touchline.

It was noticeable against St Johnstone that Mohamed Diomande was operating closer to Tavernier and Cerny, with the hosts’ play down the right far more fluid. Look at Rangers’ pass network from this weekend as proof and compare it to the week prior against Hibs.

(Image: StatsBomb)

It was that fact that allowed Cerny to receive the ball more frequently in the half-space and afforded him runners on the right. In short, the Czech international was rarely isolated and forced wide onto his right side which can in moments become neutralised. The winger was receiving the ball narrower and in in a variety of positions. 

(Image: StatsBomb)

That was the case for the game’s opening goal. Notice in the video below that Diomande is wide on the right with Tavernier ahead of Cerny, who has the space to receive centrally, nutmeg his man and find the far corner. Moving from outside to in.

The second goal was an important reminder of the variation his game requires to keep those left-footed shots unpredictable. While lacking power on the eventual effort, Cerny took this shot early.

Playing with the confidence necessary to try things, whether that be a nutmeg or right-footed effort, proved vital. Clement needs incisive, instinctive attackers to brighten up an attack which has become stodgy during parts of the early season.

Perhaps Cerny should’ve been selfish and attempted a shot that could’ve grabbed a hat-trick soon before he was brought off. Regardless, this was a step forward after a couple of weeks of treading the opposite direction.