There is no hiding away from the fact that Glasgow Rangers have had a horrendous start to the 2025/26 campaign, domestically and in Europe, under Russell Martin.
The Light Blues swooped to appoint the former Scotland international, who had been out of work since being sacked by Southampton last season, but he has failed to win the supporters over yet.
It has been the worst start for the club in the Scottish Premiership in 47 years, with four draws and one loss in five games, after the 2-0 loss to Hearts on Saturday.
Lawrence Shankland, who was a reported target for Rangers last year, scored both of the goals for the Jam Tarts, as the Light Blues failed to offer a threat of their own at the other end of the pitch.
The Ibrox giants made 14 additions to their first-team squad during the summer transfer window, which means that there does need to be a degree of patience with some individuals as they get up to speed in a difficult environment, created by the team’s performances.
Rangers have seen it plenty of times in recent years when a player has a slow start to life at Ibrox before exploding into life. Malik Tillman is one notable example of that.
Rangers hit the jackpot with Malik Tillman
The Light Blues swooped to sign the USA international from German giants Bayern Munich on a season-long loan in the summer of 2022 to bolster their options at the top end of the pitch.
At the time of the announcement, Giovanni van Bronckhorst said: “He is an exciting young talent who will further add to our attacking options and myself and the coaching staff are looking forward to working with him.”
The Dutch head coach made it clear that he was a ‘young talent’ whom the coaching staff would work with, which is why it was not a surprise when he had a fairly slow start to life at Ibrox.
Tillman managed two goals and one assist in his first 12 appearances in all competitions for the Light Blues, as he struggled for consistency early on in his Glasgow career, per Sofascore.
However, the German-born star went on to end the campaign with 12 goals and five assists in 43 outings for the Scottish giants, which shows that he improved his output at the top end of the pitch as the season went on.
xG
6.35
Top 9%
xG on target
6.59
Top 8%
Goals
10
Top 6%
xA
4.60
Top 15%
Assists
4
Top 33%
Chances created
46
Top 9%
Successful dribbles
43
Top 9%
As you can see in the table above, Tillman ended up being one of the most impressive attacking midfielders in the Premiership in the 2022/23 campaign, as he ranked highly as a scorer, a creator, and as a dribbler.
This shows that the Gers hit the jackpot with the USMNT talent because they were willing to be patient with him as a loan player, which is something to keep in mind when judging the current squad.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
Whilst you may jump to Thelo Aasgaard as a direct comparison to Tillman, given that he is also an attacking midfielder and has failed to deliver a goal or an assist in his first three outings in the Premiership.
However, Martin is brewing the club’s next version of Tillman at Ibrox in a different underperforming Light Blues attacking signing – Mikey Moore.
Why Mikey Moore is the next Malik Tillman for Rangers
Unlike Aasgaard, Moore is similar to the former Rangers star in the sense that he is also a loan player from a big European club, Tottenham Hotspur instead of Bayern Munich, and is a young and inexperienced player.
Whereas Aasgaard is 23 and played 163 first-team matches for Wigan, as well as 17 for Luton Town, before his permanent move to Ibrox during the summer transfer window.
Moore arrived in Glasgow this summer with just three league starts in first-team football under his belt during his time with Spurs, as this is his first loan move away from the Europa League champions.
This is why it should not be a surprise to anyone that the 18-year-old talent has had a slow start at Rangers, despite his claim that he would like to be one of the best players in the world.
Moore has delivered no goals and one assist in five appearances in all competitions for the Light Blues so far this season, per Transfermarkt, assisting Nedim Bajrami for the opener in the 4-2 win over Alloa Athletic in the League Cup.
All of the teenage talent’s appearances for the Light Blues so far this season have come on the left wing, per Transfermarkt, but his career statistics suggest that he should be used more centrally.
Left wing (18)
4
6
Attacking midfield (8)
6
4
Centre-forward (7)
11
4
Right wing (6)
1
0
Left midfield (3)
0
1
As you can see in the table above, Moore has scored 17 goals and delivered eight assists in 15 outings as an attacking midfielder or striker, compared to five goals and seven assists in 27 games as a winger, on the right and left combined.
These statistics suggest that the English whiz, who was described as “fearless” by teammate James Maddison, would be far more effective for the Gers if Martin utilised him as an attacking midfielder or perhaps as a second striker behind Bojan Miovski or Youssef Chermiti.
Moore has looked a little lost on the left wing in the Premiership, completing 17% of his attempted dribbles this season per Sofascore, and playing him centrally could help to simplify his game and allow him to concentrate on making an impact in the box, rather than trying to beat three or four players with the ball.
Rangers had "athletic beast" on trial, now he's worth more than Chermiti
Rangers had a star on trial in 2023 who is now worth £7m more than Youssef Chermiti.
ByDan Emery
Therefore, there needs to be a degree of patience with Moore whilst he finds his feet at Ibrox and Martin finds out how best to utilise his talent within the team, because his statistics in central positions suggest that he has the potential to explode in the same way that Tillman did.
