Sam Lammers was deliberately ignored by Rangers teammates John Lundstram and Nico Raskin vs Hearts because “they’re not confident he’s actually going to do anything”, according to Michael Stewart.
The BBC Sport pundit suggested live on the Sportsound coverage of the 2-1 win on 29 October that the two Ibrox midfielders appeared to be passing up opportunities to give the summer signing the ball despite him being open as “they’re not convinced” by his ability.
The Dutchman struggled again, along with numerous teammates, as Philippe Clement’s side went into the 90th minute 1-0 down, before a dramatic turnaround took the points, with Stewart claiming the former Sampdoria forward isn’t “generally involved in the game” with teammates bypassing him.
Stewart said at half-time (4.05pm): “Deary me, could [Cyriel] Dessers or Lammers not do with an easier finish?
“Sam Lammers, it’s half time, we’ve got the second half to come and you’d be expecting better but so far this season we’ve not seen it.
“He’s playing number 10, and not only is there no real end product he’s not generally involved in the game a great deal.
“The biggest thing as well now is there’s a few occasions when Raskin and Lundstram have got the ball in particular, the number 10, for me, has got to be one of their main players you’re hitting with the ball if you look at the passing angles because he’s playing in between the lines, that’s where you can penetrate.
“I think there’s been a few occasions where they’ve not played him the ball when he’s been on, and it may well be because they’re not convinced, they’re not confident that he’s actually going to do anything with it.”
Incompatible?
It is impossible to say with certainty if the Light Blues midfield have lost faith in Lammers without them confirming it, which they obviously never would.
But when the summer arrival continues to play the lion’s share of the minutes on offer and his impact on the game is negligible it would go some of the way to explaining that.
Lundstram especially saw a lot of the ball against Hearts but didn’t seem to be able to do much with it in terms of dealing with the banks of visiting defenders set up against him in the second half, bar some speculative long-range shots.
If he was indeed not using one of the primary routes through because he saw it as worthless then that represents a major issue for him, Lammers, Clement and the side in general.
Lammers surely has quality to have forged a career in professional football over the past decade that has taken in the Eredivisie, Serie A, the Bundesliga, international football up to under-21 level, and now Rangers, and there were a couple of early flashes of it against Hearts even.
But what isn’t up for debate is that he is struggling after moving to Glasgow and, whether teammates are ignoring him or he just isn’t getting involved enough off his own back, it certainly looks like he could do with a spell out of the side with a view to regroup and build some confidence out of the spotlight.
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