John Lundstram and the Rangers role change that has him thriving at Ibrox

When first signed from Sheffield United, the general expectation was that he would act as a box-to-box midfielder, an update on the role Scott Arfield has played in previous seasons. But Lundstram looked a little unwieldy, lacking the dynamism and forward runs expected.

The sending off against Alashkert after dallying on the ball was a low point - after that, he was out of the starting line-up for over a month. His return has yielded more positive reviews, though, and that’s down to the new position.

While every team will have their own preferences, generally speaking, base midfielders are supposed to provide protection to their centre-backs, and act as the first point of contact in build-up play. They should be strong defensively on the ground, but must also be capable on the ball. Lundstram, so far, is ticking plenty of the necessary boxes.

Sitting in front of the centre-backs, or dropping in between them as he did against Dundee, he often takes the ball in space due to the defensive nature of domestic opposition. Un-marked, he has plenty of time to make decisions, and the vast majority of his passes are accurate and weighted well. 

Lundstram keeps possession ticking with simple, short passes, sometimes spreading out to the flanks. He doesn’t try to force play forward too often when it isn’t on, though he does mix in the occasional through ball. One stylistic tendency, which is a strength, is the element of disguise he adds to these passes. 

In the following sequence, taken from the weekend draw with Hearts, he shapes his body as if to pass to Ianis Hagi. Then, just as he’s about to pass, he wraps his right foot around the ball and instead finds Joe Aribo. This invites Hagi to make a third-man run into the space behind Aribo’s marker, and Rangers almost break through.

Minutes later, Lundstram repeats the trick. Again he shapes his body as if to pass outwards, this time to James Tavernier. Again, at the last second he wraps his right foot around the ball and punches it through the lines to an un-marked Hagi. 

Lundstram did something similar in the win over Hibernian earlier in October. Setting up as if to whip a high cross into the box on his left foot, he adjusts his strike at the last second and instead feeds Hagi in behind.

The disguise on these passes means defenders can’t predict and nullify what’s about to happen. Opponents don’t shift to block the through ball, because they don’t see it coming. Markers don’t get as tight, so receivers like Hagi and Aribo can take the ball on the turn and play forward. It’s a subtle detail that can make a big impact in breaking down compact defences.

READ MORE: Why Rangers using three number 10s allowed them to 'find their level' for 45 minutes against Hearts

Disguised passing is perhaps the greatest benefit Lundstram brings in possession, though he also offers accuracy and a decent range. He’s also demonstrated an ability to combine with the attacking midfielders in the new 4-2-3-1 system, playing one-twos, bursting forward and offering a shooting threat from outside the box.

Defensively, he is strong in the tackle and fills in well for the full-backs. In the next sequence we see him covering behind Nathan Patterson when the young right-back was drawn out of position, then intercepting to end a Hibs attack.

However, defence is an area Lundstram can still work on. He needs to be more alert to second ball scenarios after partial clearances by the Rangers centre-backs following long balls and crosses from the opposition, and he also needs to make better decisions on when to close down the opponent. To sum up the improvements he could make in two words: anticipating danger.

There is a trend of over-committing, where Lundstram rushes in and is too easily taken out of the game by a dribble or a pass. This is particularly noticeable right at the start of games. 

Here, he goes to close down straight from the kick-off against Dundee. Paul McMullan simply accelerates beyond him.

The same thing happened against Hearts last weekend. Rangers went long from kick-off and lost possession. Lundstram stepped up to help the counter-press, but didn’t shut off the passing angle from Beni Baningime to Cameron Devlin, allowing Hearts to penetrate and run at the Rangers defence.

If Lundstram can develop his sense of where to be to eliminate problems, he will become a more rounded deep-lying playmaker type. He already brings more physicality and aggression to the base midfield position than either Steven Davis or Glen Kamara, can break forward single-handedly more than the former, and passes with more variety than the latter.

Assuming Rangers persist with a partnership at base midfield, it’s likely that Lundstram will initially rotate with Davis and Kamara depending on form and fitness. But if he can work on his defensive game and continue adding value on the ball, he could become the key player many of the club’s supporters believed he would be.