Put bluntly: Chermiti is at his best with someone alongside him, not stuck up front on his own. Play Mikey Moore at number 10 and you slot into a 4-2-3-1 shape. Pair Chermiti with a genuine partner and you revert to 4-4-2. The two set-ups ask different things of the team, and that’s what a lot of the debate boils down to.

Why the shape matters

It’s not about Danny Rohl trying to 'isolate' Chermiti on purpose. You can see why the manager has tinkered with both ideas. A 4-2-3-1 asks the lone forward to hold the line, press and create space for runners from the number 10 and the wide players. A 4-4-2 asks the front two to work in tandem, one often occupying defenders while the other makes the runs in behind.

What Chermiti actually needs

Chermiti reads like a second striker: he thrives when someone else drags defenders, frees pockets of space and takes the physical attention. He isn’t the kind who will do all that on his own every week. Give him a partner who can occupy centre-backs and chip in with regular goals and his game blossoms. That’s the honest football truth — movement, link-up and simple outlets make him dangerous.

Naderi, Miovski and the summer question

Rangers did push to bring Naderi in at the end of January, and you can see why fans are hopeful. He could offer the sort of presence that complements Chermiti, but it’s still early days and he’s only had a handful of appearances so far. As for Miovski, the disappointment is obvious. He showed something at Aberdeen, but that version hasn’t been turning up here. If he can’t find form, then summer will bring tough calls — for club and player alike.

To be fair, formations don’t win or lose on paper alone. It’s about personnel, timing and whether the team buys into the plan. Chermiti as a second striker makes sense; the job now is finding the consistent partner who lets him do what he does best.

Written by RohlWithCheese: 15 March 2026

Tags: tactics spfl transfers