Livingston assistant manager Marvin Bartley reckons Scottish football will see a new Ryan Kent after Rangers appointment of Michael Beale earlier this week.
Kent is free to speak to other club's in January as he enters the final six months of his Ibrox contract and has come under intense scrutiny for his performances this season, with Rangers creating unwanted records in the Champions League and falling nine points behind Celtic in the Premiership title race.
However Bartley insists Rangers boss Beale could start playing to the wingers strengths and predicts an upturn in contributions - starting with the clash against Hibs in two weeks time when the season resumes from the World Cup break. Although he used Livi striker Joel Nouble as a perfect example of someone who’s statistics don’t make as good reading as people expect. He told Clyde Superscoreboard: "I think when you are a manager and you look at the attacking side of your play, it's how can I utilise these players and get the best out of them. For that, Ryan Kent needs people going off him, even around him or in front of him so he can then drive at his player one versus one. There's no doubt in my mind that we will see a new Ryan Kent.
"I know I said about Aaron Ramsey when he came in and I got that wrong but with the Ryan Kent one, I think we will see a new Ryan Kent from Hibs going forward. I think he [Beale] will keep the width, I really do. I think he will keep the width and when the ball comes to him then he can drive inside, then he can get in at the back post as the balls at the opposite side do think you are going to see a full-back either going around him or a midfield runner because he needs that. It's too easy to double up on Ryan Kent at this moment in time.
"We get caught up in numbers and listen, I think there's even more pressure on him when you see wingers at Celtic return these high numbers. But just talking about Joel Nouble, look at how effective he is for us and what he does. His numbers aren't great so Ryan Kent, yes you want to see numbers but if he puts in good performances and Rangers are winning and he helps teams to win then who cares who's scoring or getting the assists."
READ NEXT
