Mark Hateley was part of a three-pronged Rangers strike force that wreaked havoc with opposition defences.
Little wonder then the man who was a regular fixture alongside Ally McCoist or Mo Johnston under Graeme Souness and Walter Smith believes current boss Michael Beale’s top priority has to be finding an attacker who will hit the back of the net 25 to 30 times a season.
Or as he puts it: “You can’t win the league when your right back’s the top scorer.” Hateley’s admiration for James Tavernier’s goal rate is obvious but with Alfredo Morelos gone and Beale pushing hard to bring Cremonese striker Cyriel Desser to the Ibrox, the former Rangers and England striker believes that getting the right man is crucial to overcoming Celtic next season. And while he believes a fit Kemar Roofe would be a massive plus for the Gers boss, Hateley knows the former Leeds and Anderlecht striker’s wretched injury record means there are no guarantees.
Hateley said: “They need a goalscorer. Actually, you don’t need one. You don’t need two. You need three goalscorers. You need two that are in your starting 11 who can score more goals than your right back and your captain if you are going to have a chance of winning anything. That’s a given.
“You have to score more goals than the opposition every week, it’s as simple as that. The game does not change. It is all about scoring goals and Celtic scored a lot more than Rangers last season.
“That is why they won the league. Rangers have only really had one main goalscorer in the team over the last five years and that has been the full back. That has been the reality of the situation.”
Hateley reckons Rangers fans will see a more flexible team next term in terms of shape but insists the most important factor will be finding the right man to put the ball in the net - and while Roofe gets a ringing endorsement, the same can’t be said of his opinion of Antonio Colak.
He added: “I still don’t think Colak brings enough.To be an impact player you need to have energy and I don’t think he brings that. If you get the ball into the six-yard box then he will score those sorts of goals.
“But, you are looking for someone who can create, someone who can beat a player and then put the ball in the back of the net. You also need someone to run in behind and Colak is not that kind of player.
“He is not a high energy player who turns defenders around and opens up big spaces in behind. But Roofe is different, if you can keep him fit and that is a massive if. But he can make an impact, 100 per cent.
“If you can get 35 games out of Roofe, he will be high 20s or 30 goals a season. That is what he does. I like what he brings. He scores goals. He has got that devilment about him as well, which I like in a goal scorer. He doesn’t mind being knocked about.
“I like all that, but you need to have that physical strength and ability to be able to bounce off people, recover and go again. His career has been blighted by injuries. It has been stop start, stop start, stop start at Leeds, over in Europe and at Rangers.
“I don’t know the extent of it and what state his body is in. If he was fit and could give you 35 games a season, you would keep him. Without a shadow of a doubt.”
Hateley reckons Rangers fans will see their favourites adopt a far more flexible next season, given the clearout that has taken place and the signings that will come in or who, in the case of Jack Butland, Kieran Dowell and Dujon Sterling, are already in the building to add to January captures Todd Cantwell and Nico Raskin. He said: “Alfredo could only play as a one (lone striker). He found it really difficult to play with another player around him.
“That’s out of the equation now. The way Rangers and Michael approach it now is a completely blank canvas. There’s a possibility of playing three at the back, five across the middle and two up front.
“All that sort of stuff. That’s what’s opened up now for Rangers. It’s all change now because certain players have left the club. The style of play can be adapted. Over the past two or three seasons, there’s been one style of play at Rangers.
“It’s been 4-3-3 and it’s never changed from that. Within that formation they’ve played slightly differently but it’s generally been a 4-3-3. The two who have come in (Cantwell and Raskin) both have done very well so far and that is encouraging.
“Todd has looked like someone who enjoys being here. I am looking forward to seeing him again next season with his qualities. Having him in the team will be a goalscorer’s dream.”
Mark Hateley was speaking at the launch of the Glasgow European Capital of Sport 2023 Refugee Football Tournament - Scotland’s most diverse football event, which will take place at Toryglen Regional Training Centre on Sunday, July 2.
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