There were a lot of noises coming out of the Rangers Training Centre last week about a certain new boy and yesterday at Livingston, I discovered what all the fuss over Malik Tillman was about.
Because when Rangers needed a lift at 1-0 down – and someone to impact their Premiership opener – he delivered. I thought Tillman was excellent when he came on at half-time. Honestly, I’ve heard so many good reports about this kid, in terms of how he’s performing in training. And his display at Livi brought home just how good he could be.
First and foremost, he’s a big athlete. Growing up at Bayern Munich, he clearly has technical ability. But in Germany you also need physicality and the ability to compete. Tillman looks like he has all of that. And if he gets game time for Rangers from that attacking midfield area of the pitch, he’s going to catch the eye even more.
The timing of his runs into the box is good. He got on the end of a chance yesterday and should have scored but was unlucky. Throughout the second half, he found himself in good positions and impacted the game really well.
Don’t get me wrong, Scott Arfield did that too. He does what no one else does and that’s run beyond. His timing and quality of the header to get the equaliser was terrific. But Tillman will have all the Rangers fans talking.
It might seem unusual to see a No.10 being the size he is but look across the city at Celtic at their attacking midfielders. Matt O’Riley and David Turnbull are both six-foot-plus as was Tom Rogic when he was there. They’re all big boys but technically good as well. Tillman looks like he can be that type of player for Rangers.
For his first competitive action in the Premiership – coming on at half-time in a game that was stale – he can be delighted with his contribution. When he arrived on loan from Bayern, people maybe didn’t think he’d play too many games initially.
But with the positive noises coming from inside the camp, I’d a feeling he might be involved sooner. Apparently, he has been really good behind closed doors and if he continues to play in the manner he did yesterday, he might just be the one who gets the nod for that role going forward.
Certainly, with the Champions League qualifier against Union St-Gilloise on Tuesday, he’s made it hard for Giovanni van Bronckhorst to leave him out. I reckon that Tillman has played his way into consideration for that massive game by his performance yesterday.
Remember, Gio can move Tom Lawrence out into a wider area, where he did a lot of good work for Derby. He likes to drift inside, which would still allow James Tavernier to bomb on outside him. You could well see Tillman get the nod for midweek, with Lawrence replacing Scott Wright on the right flank. It was a really impressive debut for the boy.
Make no mistake, Rangers’ tempo needed to go up at 1-0 down and they needed a box threat. Tillman gives them that threat when the ball’s wide.
Rangers had 38 crosses yesterday and they can’t just have Antonio Colak in there to meet them. When you’ve got guys like Tillman, Arfield and Ryan Kent at the back post when Tavernier’s on the ball, suddenly you’ve got good numbers in there to offer that threat.
What will please Gio most about the victory yesterday was the influence his subs had. When you’re fighting on four fronts, you need depth in the squad.
Look at the guys who weren’t even on the bench for Rangers at Livi. Alfredo Morelos has still to come back, Ben Davies has been bought for £4million, Ianis Hagi is still injured – and that’s just to name a few.
The depth at Ibrox looks really strong and it has to be because Gio can’t just rely on the same 13 or 14 players this season. It’s important you have like-for-like quality to come in when there’s a bit of rotation or players suffer a loss of form.
Rangers look like they’ve got that. When a manager picks a bench, he’ll consider who can impact the game. That might be a defensive midfielder to shore up a game when you’re ahead.
But yesterday Gio needed a player to get them back in the game. In Arfield and particularly Tillman, that’s exactly what he got.
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