In a season where negativity is rife and trust has been lost, there are not many good performers that Rangers fans can gravitate towards in the first team.

The situation off the field is bleak for many, there is little to encourage the support, and the moans and groans are accumulating ahead of an AGM in a few weeks which threatens to seriously ask questions of those running of the club. Protest banners are appearing regularly again, which feels like a precursor to what will be a bigger and more serious rebellion in the very near future.

Nils Koppen's recent promotion has been met with abject disappointment, many asking why once again we are promoting people who are ill-qualified, or have very little experience, into key roles at the football club? Worse still, why are we doing this with no chairman or CEO in place? That isn’t my view exclusively where I am shouting into a void, that’s the view of a lot of supporters and a quick scan of the social media reaction to the news shows an unhealthy level of trust for those running the football club.

On the park, of course performances have been up and down, mainly down, and that is reflected in the league table, which has Rangers nine points behind and languishing in third. A winnable run of league fixtures should offer more hope but many are wary of a team that are as unpredictable in terms of performances and results.

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The piece by Joshua Barrie this week highlighted our failings from set-pieces. Rangers are the only team in the Premiership not to score from a set-piece so far this season. That won't come as a surprise to the fans who have a disconnect with the management at present. 

We are well placed in Europe, we are in the League Cup final and a run of winnable games brings us to Celtic and Aberdeen in the coming weeks. That is, surely, a chance to build some momentum and gain some ground? Can this team do it? Time will tell. Many will have their views.

One positive over the international break has been the form of John Souttar and he produced two outstanding performances for Scotland. A clean sheet against Croatia earned Scotland a much-needed three points. Then he played well once again in Poland as he made a couple of good blocks and got an assist with a terrific cross that Andy Robertson headed home to win it late on. 

(Image: Alan Harvey - SNS Group) It was interesting that those showings came off the back of Connor Goldson's comments during the break when he stated that he never wanted to leave Rangers and that he was disappointed at how it all worked out in the summer. Perhaps moving Goldson out was critical to Souttar's development? He is now the right-sided centre-back, his more natural position, and he is playing regularly for club and country.

Ian Durrant spoke really highly of Souttar this week and about how Philippe Clement could turn to him or Jack Butland as captain if James Tavernier was to come out of the side. Ian mentioned that Souttar was one of those players you would want in the trenches with you and of his hopes that he can take his 'immense' presence for Scotland into the coming matches with Rangers.

That is the challenge now for Souttar. Can he take those performances and be a key part of a winning Rangers team? Can he become the leader that a Rangers legend like Ian Durrant believes he can be?

I don’t see it from John Souttar. Not yet. He is performing well overall. But just as I think John is turning into the centre-back we need as he is outpacing Kenneth Vargas, he then leaves the pass back to Butland criminally short and is fortunate that Hearts don't convert a clear chance at a crucial stage in the game. 

For me, Souttar needs to become that dominating, commanding, no mistakes, or as few as possible, centre-back and he needs to start doing that in both boxes. He needs to add that aggression and determination to his game in order to get on the score sheet as well as stopping them at the other end.

I see a competent performer, but I also see a centre-back starting for a team that is nine points behind in third and I’m reluctant to start talking about leaders and captaincy yet. John Souttar is doing ok, fine perhaps, but before we start shouting about how great he is then maybe we should wait until the League Cup final passes and this run of domestic matches is played out.

If he helps Rangers go on a run, returns the League Cup and gets some big results in the coming months then I’ll start to believe in John Souttar. Until then he has a challenge to continue to perform. But so does everyone, on and off the park.