He did score, and it was good to see a wee glimpse of that physicality because, let’s be honest, he’s a unit. But that’s the point. You want to see it more often, not just in flashes when the ball drops kindly or when the moment suits.

I’m not having a go for the sake of it either. It’s more that you watch the last 15 or 20 minutes of games when Rangers are camped in decent areas, and you can feel the crowd waiting for something to hit. A run across the near post. A striker coming short to bounce it. Someone dragging a centre-half into a channel they don’t want to go into. Too often, there’s just… nothing.

Good areas, no target

That’s the frustrating bit. We can get the ball wide, we can get it into the final third, and we can build pressure. But if your front men aren’t giving you angles, it becomes predictable. Full-backs and wingers look up and it’s the same picture: defenders set, box organised, and not a lot of chaos being created.

It’s not just on one player, either. When you’ve got two strikers on the pitch, you want them working as a pair. One comes short, one threatens in behind. One occupies the near-side centre-half, the other peels off the back. If neither Chermiti nor Danilo are showing for it, or taking a defender somewhere uncomfortable, the whole attack can end up feeling a bit blunt.

He’s too easy to play against

The big thing with Chermiti is he’s built for a proper battle, but he doesn’t always play like it. Centre-halves in this league will happily take an easy night if you let them. If you’re not pinning them, not competing for first contact, not making them defend their own box like it’s a scrap, you’re doing their job for them.

And that’s where the “use your stature” point lands. It’s not about launching it long every two minutes. It’s about making yourself a nuisance. Put your body in, protect the ball, win fouls, attack crosses like you mean it, and suddenly defenders start backing off a yard. That yard is everything.

Graft creates chances

There’s a reason fans keep coming back to work-rate with strikers. Not because we want them sprinting about aimlessly, but because honest graft opens doors. It forces mistakes. It creates second balls. It buys you time in the box. If Chermiti lays his body on the line and really commits to that side of the role, chances will come.

Truth is, he clearly had something as a youth player. You don’t end up at a club like Rangers without ability. But the attributes we’re waiting on need to show consistently in the moments that matter, especially late on when games get stretched and opportunities are there for the taking.

Written by Rosevale: 22 December 2025

Tags: squad