Ryan Kent ended last Saturday’s win over Motherwell with no goals or assists to his name. Just like the last time Rangers travelled away from home, in a 4-1 win against Hibs.

By some barometers, both of those sentences provide a sufficient stick to beat Kent with and don’t require any context. What is the role of an attacker, especially in the Scottish Premiership, outside of final third numbers anyway?

Judging Kent's game on goal contributions alone misses the mark, however.

Speaking after his side’s 4-1 defeat in Edinburgh, Hibs manager Lee Johnson said: “I thought Ryan Kent was outstanding in terms of running the game from that central area.”

Beale added: "I thought Ryan was essential to the midfield because they didn’t know where to pick him up and it gave space to Nico [Raskin] and Todd [Cantwell] and vice versa."

Kent had an influential game at Easter Road, just like last weekend's win over Motherwell in Lanarkshire.

There is legitimacy to the claim that he should hit the back of the net more. However, either match was proof that his creative impact extends beyond final actions.

Throughout, Kent was able to run the game, disrupt the opposition’s defensive shape and eventually, play a large hand in creating Rangers’ third and fourth goals. A large part of that owed to the unpredictability of his positioning. 

Look at the passes he received in the first 70 minutes against Motherwell, before being moved to the left-wing.

At points he was situated wide on the left, attempting to get on the ball at an angle and find runs in behind.

On other occasions Kent remained high in the centre, looking to link up with Antonio Colak and Fashion Sakala.

Another interesting detail was Kent’s relationship with Todd Cantwell. On more than one occasion, the latter intelligently created space for his teammate by opening a passing lane with a deliberately-timed run.

The attacker's movement was unpredictable and therefore, Motherwell could only react to it. That created space elsewhere for three of the four goals scored at Fir Park.

As Beale explained recently, "In the final third a lot of the time he [Kent] draws someone to him and they might get the final pass or shot away.”

Here, Rangers' No.14 drops down a line to pick up the ball and attracts four opponents, creating space on the opposite side of the field that he recognises.

Callum Slattery has to foul John Lundstram given the ground he’s making up and James Tavernier equalises from the subsequent free-kick.

Sean Goss, operating at the base of midfield, was often in direct opposition to Kent and lost out for both of the away side's second-half strikes.

It's a far cry from the start of the season when domestically, Kent was regularly receiving the ball pinned to the touchline with two opponents to beat. This frame is taken from Rangers' 2-1 win at Fir Park under Giovanni van Bronckhorst earlier this season.

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Fast forward to the present, Kent was able to run free in more valuable central spaces regularly on his second visit of the season to Fir Park.

In this example, Ben Davies, again excellent on the ball throughout, waits for an opponent to apply pressure before releasing the ball into space. Kent knows there’s space in the centre of the park to exploit with Goss not set up for a footrace.

From here, he’s able to slip in Sakala, just like in the first half, who crosses before Cantwell’s eventual strike.

The game’s fourth goal summed up all of the outlined themes. Kent’s movement was unpredictable, allowing him to attack an unprepared opponent from his favoured side of the pitch.

Initially, he’s being marked by Bevis Mugabi as Rangers break forward but when Motherwell fall back into a block, Kent remains free in the centre.

After play moves left, he gets the ball exactly where he wants it. In relative space on the left, without a full-back locked on to defend him down the line or a teammate to double up.

He can easily chop inside Goss and then slide another ball down the side of the defence, where Morelos will subsequently pick out Malik Tillman.

Looking at the passes played by the former Liverpool man throughout the 90 minutes, this ball down the side was a regular pattern.

Kent’s goalscoring is a different topic and undoubtedly something being worked on behind the scenes. But any discussion regarding his attacking output must extend beyond his goals and assists.

The phrase "ran the game" might usually be attributed to a deep-lying midfielder who dictates the tempo and speeds up proceedings when necessary. Creating openings that others can exploit. 

This is the function Kent's fulfilling under Beale and it's why the manager wants to keep him at Ibrox beyond the summer.