The balance between the reputation and the reality has - at various points of his Ibrox career - been a difficult one to weigh up when considering the form and future of Nico Raskin. At times, his standing amongst the support has been undoubted. At others, his performances in the Rangers midfield have been unfulfilling.
The man that earns such rave reviews for his nation has not always been the one to build a successful Rangers side around. Perhaps that adds to the frustration of fans, who know what Raskin is capable of but believe he doesn’t hit those heights often enough in a blue jersey.
In the summer, he was the one asset that was unsellable for so many. Weeks into the season, he was the pantomime villain as Russell Martin’s tenure unravelled. On the eve of the visit of Motherwell and a must-win Premiership fixture, Raskin is the figure that Danny Rohl still has faith in.
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Rohl is the fourth permanent boss that has attempted to get the best out of Raskin, following Michael Beale, Philippe Clement and Martin. Arguably, it was interim manager Barry Ferguson that achieved that ambition, with the form that the 24-year-old produced in the second half of last term the most impressive of his Ibrox career.
The middle of the park continues to be a problem area for Rangers and it is one that Rohl will look to address next month. The German believes Raskin can be a solution to a long-standing issue.
“Nico is an important player for me and the group,” Rohl said. “We worked individually on him, also in meetings I spoke with him what I want to see more. I think in general, not just Nico, all parts of the game, the midfield, we need more structure.
“I think we lose sometimes the structure in possession, not against the ball, and against the ball it's very clear what we are doing. I like what I see there, that we have ball winnings, especially Nico when he's in front for defending, he has a lot.
“But in possession, we have to control the game more. And if we do this, then we help also our players around. This is the part that we have to improve in the midfield, but also as a group - our decision making.
“At the moment, if you have option A and option B, and option B is the advantage, we decide too often to option A, the disadvantage. This is what we have, I saw this in some games now. We have on one side, there is a plus one player, we have overload.
“Instead, we use this side, we play in the wrong side, and then we bring our own problem. This is in some phases and then it looks like we are not connected enough, we have not the net again. And if we do this, then we are much, much, much better.”
Raskin addressed his high-profile falling out with Martin last month as he spoke for the first time about the events that saw him dropped from the first team squad. It was a period of uncertainty, one where he believed he may have to leave the club for the good of his career.
Martin saw Raskin’s role within the midfield differently to the man himself. With a World Cup to come at the end of the season, the stakes could not be higher for Raskin. He needs to be playing, and he needs to be playing well.
“‘It’s important for players to always to see a development, to see a direction where we want to go,” Rohl said. “I think this is what we deliver at the moment. I give him a picture of what I want to see from him.
🗣️ “It’s a reality check…we need to be honest at the moment, it’s not been good enough”
Nico Raskin left frustrated and disappointed after Rangers’ 2-1 loss to Hearts pic.twitter.com/O3olmKdkVC— The Rangers Review (@RangersReview55) December 22, 2025
“I had an individual talk with him in the last days, very long, 25-30 minutes. I’m absolutely convinced that he recognises what we are doing.
“I think for me [his best position] is number six, because he likes to have the game in front of him. I see that he can take it forward from a six, rather than backwards from an eight or 10 position. That's very clear for me that he is a six.”
The form of Raskin is just one item on Rohl’s to-do list right now. It is, of course, a lengthy one given the situation that he inherited when he succeeded Martin back in October.
The defeat to Hearts gives the German no margin for error if he, which he does, still holds aspirations of a title challenge. A year that has felt like a lifetime at Ibrox will end after the meetings with Motherwell and St Mirren and Rohl is looking forward to what 2026 will bring.
“I'm very positive because I have a good relationship with Andrew and with the people around me,” Rohl said. “We have a clear idea of what we want to do and what we want to see in the future from our team, from Rangers. We have to do everything right. We have to improve parts.
“It means the team, it means our direction of football that we want to see. We agree that we have a lot of work to do, but I'm very positive. I was in the morning and had a talk about our direction and it goes in the direction we want to see in the future.
“I think to be more stable it's about results on the one side, it's about performance and it's about the direction we want to go in. I feel that all these things go in the direction we want to see. I know as well that we want to drive quicker. This is also part of our development, but I see at the moment the direction and that's the most important key.”
The visit of Motherwell is a must-win one for Rangers. A look at the league table shows that will be easier said than done, with the Lanarkshire outfit currently sitting ahead of Rohl’s side.
The Steelmen have been one of the success stories of the first half of the season under Jens Berthel Askou. They will arrive at Ibrox in fine fettle and with no fear.
“Yeah, I think they are doing well,” Rohl said. “They play a lot of 4-2-4 as a box in the middle. They have a lot of ball possession in the league, I think about over 60 per cent and they have direction.
“But I'm convinced that when we bring our intensity on the pitch, our structure, with the ball against the ball, that we can hurt them. They give us all those spaces where we can attack them.
“I'm really looking forward to this game because I think both teams will try to play the direction of their own. I think there's not one team who has just destroyed the game. They want to play football, they want to press, and this is, for me, a good basic to have an attractive game.”
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