The 3 factors that powered Steven Davis' Rangers masterclass and a James Tavernier apology - Four Lads

In the hardest of weeks for the club, we ended it in the brightest way with a 1-6 demolition of Motherwell in a game where everything that hasn’t been going right, finally did.

Pace, intensity, direction, inventiveness and any other buzzword we have used to discuss the team lately had all returned and then some.

Those that follow my ramblings will recall last week, after the Aberdeen game, I had lamented the apparent staleness and lack of invention in the team. Subtle changes to the starting eleven certainly changed that but the one huge plus was the inclusion of Zambian Fashion Sakala.

He’s raw, he’s tricky and he’s got an electricity to his play. He’s also got a step over or two and sometimes he looks clumsy and raw, other times he looks effective and dangerous as we saw on Sunday. Pace does funny things to defenders and they hate it when players run at them. What Sakala brought was exactly that, committing them and causing Stephen O'Donnell to get cautioned early on.

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The Zambian produced an absolutely terrific leap to put Rangers ahead before a cracking third where he drove in from the left-wing and drilled a shot that deflected in. His third was an expertly timed run off the shoulder and showed he is also capable of the poacher type goal. A header, a shot outside the box and a close-range effort show he has the promise to become a very useful weapon in our side.

But it was also the return of Steven Davis as our six that was pivotal. He looked rejuvenated in the role and delivered an absolute masterclass. First of all, he set the tempo, which meant every time he got the ball he very quickly moved it on to other players in the team who perhaps have more guile. That meant Rangers were constantly moving forward at speed, something which hasn’t been happening lately where it has often been too slow and laboured.

Secondly, he was there every time, picking up the scraps and stopping breaks or attacks from Motherwell then quickly offloading. It meant Rangers were constantly pressurising the opposition.

Lastly, he kept our shape, not just his own but also and those around him, very well and that’s vitally important because it allows everyone to move safely knowing we were properly set up.

Who else was the subtle difference? The return of Scott Arfield, who kept things nice and simple, complemented Kamara and Davis superbly. If he could grab some form with the aforementioned duo controlling deeper areas with their class then Rangers will be flying.

That introduction of pace in Sakala and tempo from Davis was key to our victory, as much as the quietly effective Arfield. It was the exact opposite of what we were doing previously when we played in front of teams, allowing them to sit and easily organise themselves. Rangers were constantly pressing and pushing on which worked superbly.

The trio of players must be given a run in the team and it is up to Lundstram, Hagi, Wright and others to earn their way back in - but also watch why Rangers are suddenly brighter in what we do.

Here is the lesson for me - it might just be that the management team know what they are doing. I said James Tavernier looked tired and spent, in fact, I thought we should put Nathan Patterson in and let James get a few weeks rest. Well, that bit was most definitely wrong and I’m happy to admit that.

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See it’s okay to be a fan, it’s okay to have ideas but everything must come in context and you have to be brave enough to acknowledge where you get it wrong. So yeah, some of my thoughts were true but the opinion of the captain was wide of the mark. He led by example, scored, assisted and rammed any criticism or thoughts he needed a rest right down my throat. I shouldn’t have been surprised either because it’s what he does.

Sure he doesn’t foam at the mouth or shout and scream but he most definitely leads by example. 99 assists is simply phenomenal and a gentle reminder that whilst I huff about dropped points against Aberdeen, maybe, just maybe Rangers and Gerrard know what they are doing.

I asked them to get their fingers out before it was too late, well they have and now we head to Brondby to boost the European challenge even further, they have set the standards required. It was a welcome return to the form of season 20/21 and we all know where that ended.

Rangers are in a semi-final, four points clear at the top of the league and sitting with Europe still wide open. Maybe Sunday was a lesson to myself just to stick with it and not overreact, just as I had been saying earlier this season in this very column.

Note to the author, Steven Gerrard might just know best.

Second note to the Author, the words are:

🎶 Tsamina mina, eh eh,

Fashion Jr, eh eh,

Tsamina mina zangalewa,

He comes from Zambia! 🎶

On to Brondby we go!