Rangers legend Ally McCoist expected Giovanni van Bronckhorst to give Cedric Itten a chance against Motherwell on Saturday. 

The lowdown

Rangers exercised their recall option to bring Itten back from his loan at Bundesliga outfit Greuther Furth in January.

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He made consecutive starts against Livingston and Ross County at the end of January, but then missed out on nine straight matchday squads, with his only game time coming in the Scottish League Cup against Annan Athletic.

Ahead of the Gers' trip to Fir Park, though, striker Kemar Roofe joined long-term absentee Alfredo Morelos on the injury list.

That seemed to present an opportunity for Itten, but Van Bronckhorst instead opted to field Fashion Sakala up front.

Itten did feature for the first time since the winter, but only for the final four minutes as a substitute.

The latest

Rangers' all-time leading goalscorer McCoist, speaking live in commentary for Sky Sports, says it may be a damning reflection that Itten didn't start even with the injuries Rangers had.

"Interesting, I heard the boys talking before the game," he said, via Ibrox News.

"Obviously no Roofe, no Morelos, however would it not have been an opportunity for Cedric Itten? Or is he so far down the pecking order [that he didn't get a chance]?"

The verdict

It's clear now that Van Bronckhorst simply doesn't rate Itten all that highly.

It was pretty telling that the Dutchman didn't even include him in his squad for the Europa League knockout stages.

Itten was called 'magnificent' by former boss Steven Gerrard but regrettably, his record for Rangers - just seven goals in 48 appearances - doesn't live up to that billing.

It certainly wouldn't be a surprise to see Rangers look to shift the £2.7million-rated, £14,000-per-week frontman from their wage bill come the summer.

In other news, one Rangers player was rated just 4/10.