Philippe Clement was left with little choice but to give Liam Kelly just his second competitive Rangers start as they host Celtic today.
First choice goalkeeper Jack Butland has been ruled out the much-anticipated derby match alongside captain James Tavernier.
The pair are usually ever-present for Rangers and are deemed strong leaders within the Light Blues team.
So, in their absence manager Clement is calling on others to step up to the plate.
Midfielder Nicolas Raskin is one that he reckons has the attributes to do exactly that. He's been handed the armband.
While, despite Kelly playing a peripheral role since arriving at Rangers during the summer, he was previously Motherwell captain and knows what’s expected on the pitch.
Clement has been warned that things could get "ugly" should Rangers fall to a defeat today. Although, he sounded pretty upbeat when chatting with Sky Sports pre-match.
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"Yes, of course," said Clement when asked about other players stepping up.
"In that way, it's a new journey also with this new group of players. Some guys are taking really good steps in that way. Nico Raskin is really growing in that role more and more the last couple of months, and you need several leaders on the pitch of course to get good games and to play at the level that Rangers want to play.
"Of course you miss two leaders but I'm expecting from Liam Kelly the same. He's been doing that in the dressing room the last couple of months, so he will do that on the pitch also."
Asked what sort of game he's expecting after falling short during a penalty shootout against the same opponents in the Scottish League Cup only 18 days ago, Clement replied: "We want to play the same kind of game, playing with our qualities, finding the right spaces, defending well and being compact is very important against them.
"They have a lot of speed, they have a lot of individual actions. So, I want my team to play with the same mentality and to compete again like we did. This time to take the three points and not have the circumstances against us."