Davis would be a massive Hampden loss for Rangers
Bug strikes down Northern Irish midfielder
The absence of Madjid Bougherra, Kirk Broadfoot and Alan McGregor are all rather annoying for Rangers but all of these players can be replaced without too much damage to the team. The news that Steven Davis was sent home from the Rangers hotel would be a bigger loss to the Ibrox side.
We’ve said a few times on this site that the Northern Irish international is the man that makes Rangers tick and this has been backed up by the stats. All of the chat about goals for Rangers falls on Boyd, Miller and even Steven Whittaker but it is the assists of Steven Davis that give the goalscorer the opportunity to put the ball away.
Davis has still not been ruled out, bugs can sometimes pass as quickly as they come on but there is likely to be a great concern for Walter Smith and all at Ibrox. Obviously the decision to send the player home was as much for prevention sakes but it would likely deplete the energy levels of the player.
Nacho Novo would be the likely candidate to replace Davis and whilst the Spanish player is adored by the Ibrox crowd, he is not the player that Davis is.
Rangers should still have the upper hand with regards to the team that they can put on the park when compared to St Mirren but it may just be that the Paisley buddies will take some hope from the list of absences in the Rangers team.
If Davis misses out, will Rangers be affected?
Hopefully the wee man recovers from the bug, however we all know that being sick and having the trots, takes a lot out of you and leaves you feeling drained of energy, a pivotal part of Davis’s game.
If he doesn’t start I think Rangers will play McCulloch & Thomson in the centre and play Beasley and Novo on the wings, that will give us natural width against a team that will certainly set their stall out to defend and frustrate, which I don’t blame them for one bit.
I’ve had my concerns about this final being a boring and turgid affair, meetings between the two so far this season (656 att the last count I think) have not been for the purist and I can’t see this being any other way.
Hopefully I’m proved wrong.