Rangers legend Brian Laudrup has lavished praise on Kemar Roofe following his winning goal against Aberdeen at the weekend.
The Jamaican international has struggled for game time since the arrival of Giovanni van Bronckhorst and, while some of that is due to injuries, Laudrup fears that the forward simply doesn’t fit into the Dutchman’s system:
“Roofe did that when he came off the bench on Saturday. You could argue he has been a bit of a victim of the change of shape under Van Bronckhorst. Roofe’s not a winger. With only one number 10 being used and Alfredo Morelos in such good form as the central striker, it’s not been obvious to see where he fits in at times. Plus, he’s had injury issues. But Roofe remains a matchwinner. Saturday showed that. And with Rangers still pursuing achievements at home and in Europe, Van Bronckhorst needs as many of those as he can get.”
Roofe has only started three games in all competitions following van Bronckhorst’s appointment, and only one of those was in the league.
Considering he has been fit for the vast majority of the season, with just one injury keeping him out of action over the festive period, Laudrup is right to point to his lack of game time.
Whether Roofe’s goal against Aberdeen will aid his efforts to feature more regularly during the run-in, we shall have to wait and see. Van Bronckhorst doesn’t like changing his starting eleven too often so it is hoped that Roofe isn’t destined for another spell on the bench.
