I watched Rangers blow away St Johnstone and noted X-Factor performer and old school route to success

Football columnists love a neat theory, and the one that has attracted most attention after Rangers’ 4-0 win over St Johnstone is a surprisingly old-fashioned one. Two strikers up front, wingers delivering from the flanks and a front pair who work off each other. In the era of false nines, inverted full-backs and positional play, it is almost refreshing to see a team win in the style of the 1990s. The Scotsman’s reporter at Ibrox picked out three talking points from the afternoon, and the most intriguing of them concerns the partnership of Ryan Naderi and Kevin Kelsy, which he described as an old-school route to success. It is worth examining whether that is nostalgia or the real thing, and what the win says about Rangers’ title hopes ten league games into the season.

The result itself was emphatic. Rangers returned to winning ways with a thumping 4-0 victory over a ten-man St Johnstone to move within a point of Celtic at Ibrox on Saturday afternoon. It was their seventh win in eight league matches, and it wiped out the memory of the 2-2 draw at Dundee a week earlier. The weather was terrible, with Storm Boelo battering the ground, and conditions of that kind often favour the side that plays more directly and wins more second balls. That was another reason the front two looked so effective. In wind and rain, a striker who can hold the ball up and attack crosses is worth considerably more than one who needs a smooth surface and time on the ball.

Start with the question of why Rangers have been playing two up front at all. When Derek McInnes arrived, the club’s attacking options were limited by injuries, and the situation has only become more acute. After moving to an old-school front two following injuries to Lawrence Shankland and Youssef Chermiti, it is Naderi who has been the main beneficiary. Shankland is out with a torn thigh muscle, Chermiti is recovering from a cruciate ligament injury, and Daisuke Yokota has also been sidelined. That left McInnes with a small group of forwards and a decision to make. He could try to force a single-striker system with players who did not suit it, or he could adapt his formation to the personnel he had. He chose the second option, and the results have been encouraging.

The logic of a 4-4-2 is that it gives each striker a role and a partner. One can occupy the centre-backs, win headers and hold the ball up, while the other runs in behind, drops into pockets and finishes the chances that arise. Kelsy and Naderi fit that division almost perfectly. Kelsy is the bigger, stronger player, comfortable with his back to goal and effective in the air, while Naderi is quicker, more mobile and more instinctive around the box. Neither has to do everything, and the combination makes it hard for defenders to know whom to mark. The three goals that involved the two of them on Saturday were all examples of that understanding.

The opening goal is the clearest illustration. A brilliant pass from Minsu Kim sliced through the St Johnstone defence and found Naderi in space. Most strikers in that position would have shot, and many would have scored, but Naderi chose to square the ball for Kelsy, who tapped it into an empty net. It was an unselfish decision, and it came from a player who knew where his partner would be. That kind of awareness takes time to develop, and it is a sign that the pair are beginning to work well together. The assist will count in the statistics, but the decision to pass rather than shoot is what impressed.

Naderi’s own goal was equally revealing. When Kim’s shot was parried by the visiting goalkeeper, Toby Steward, the rebound fell into the path of the striker, who tapped in from two yards. It was a poacher’s finish, and it required nothing more than being in the right place, but being in the right place is exactly what a good striker does. By my reckoning, it took his tally to four goals in his last four appearances, a remarkable run for a player who had not always been a regular starter. The Scotsman’s reporter noted that the Dutch-born forward has been the main beneficiary of the switch to two strikers, and the numbers bear him out.

Kelsy, meanwhile, was the central figure in the other goals. His first came from Naderi’s pass, and his second, just after the hour, came from a back-post effort after Emmanuel Fernandez flicked on a corner from Kim. He also forced a save from the visiting goalkeeper in the first half and generally gave the home side a focal point that they had lacked the previous week. It is fair to say that his return to the team transformed the shape of the attack. At Dundee, with Kim and Naderi in the central roles and Kelsy on the bench, Rangers had plenty of possession but little penetration. On Saturday, with two proper strikers, they looked like a team that knew how to score.

That brings us to the second of the Scotsman’s talking points, which was the performance of Kim. The reporter asked whether the South Korean could be Rangers’ X-Factor, and on the evidence of Saturday, the answer is a firm maybe. Kim was involved in all three of Rangers’ goals before being substituted, which made him the Rangers News man of the match, even ahead of Kelsy. He also hit the woodwork with a long-range effort in the first half, played the pass that led to the opening goal, shot at the goalkeeper for the second and took the corner that led to the third. For a winger who had gone several matches without a goal or an assist, it was a performance that suggested he had finally found his role.

Part of the reason for his improvement is the position McInnes has given him. Moved to the left of the attack, he can run at defenders, cut inside on his stronger foot and play the final ball, all of which suit his strengths. In a central role behind the strikers, as at Dundee, he was often asked to do too much, and he struggled to influence the match. The change of position has made a visible difference. He is more involved, more direct and more dangerous, and the other attackers have benefited from the space he creates. It is a good example of how a small tactical adjustment can unlock a player’s potential.

It would be a mistake, however, to call him a proven difference maker. One outstanding match does not make a season, and Kim’s earlier statistics suggested a winger who created chances but did not finish them. He had taken 19 shots without scoring before Saturday, and he still has not scored a Premiership goal. The assists that did not appear in the official record, because the final passes came from other players, are a reminder that his contribution is sometimes hidden. What he offers is a combination of pace, creativity and willingness to take on defenders, and if he can add consistency to that, he could indeed become the X-Factor the headline suggests. For now, the sensible position is cautious optimism.

The first of the three talking points in the Scotsman piece is harder to interpret, because only fragments of it are visible. It appears to concern the period at the start of the second half, when St Johnstone briefly gained the upper hand, and Rangers’ record in tricky games. The reporter notes that Rangers’ inability to get over the line in tricky games has bitten them hard in recent campaigns, and that a tactical switch from Simo Valakari played into St Johnstone’s favour as they went direct to the imposing Danny Schmidt. That is a fair observation. After the break, the visitors changed their approach, hitting long balls towards Schmidt and trying to win knockdowns, and for a time Rangers looked uncertain. Josh Fowler even had a one-on-one chance that he hit into the side netting, which would have changed the mood of the match.

That period matters, because it echoes a theme that has run through the season. Rangers have shown a tendency to ease off when they take the lead, and to allow opponents back into games that should be settled. The draw at Dundee was the most recent example, with the team going ahead and then conceding an equaliser through a mistake. On Saturday, they avoided that fate, partly through good fortune and partly through a quick response. Naderi’s goal, just after the break and shortly before the hour, restored the lead to two goals and effectively settled the match. It was the kind of reaction that a title-chasing team needs, and it showed a resilience that was missing a week earlier.

The point about direct play is worth dwelling on. St Johnstone’s switch to a long-ball approach was a sensible tactical decision, because it took advantage of the weather and the physical presence of Schmidt. It also tested Rangers’ defenders in a way that a more patient style would not have done. The home side handled it well, winning enough of the aerial duels and clearing their lines when necessary, and the clean sheet reflected that. But the episode was a reminder that opponents will keep trying to exploit Rangers’ vulnerability to high balls and second-phase situations, and that the defence will need to remain alert. The manager will have noticed it, and it will be on the agenda in training.

The broader question is what all of this tells us about Rangers’ title hopes. Ten games into the season, they sit one point behind Celtic, having beaten them twice already, and they have the momentum that comes from seven wins in eight. The next test comes on Wednesday, when they face Hearts in a match that will be shown live on Sky Sports, followed by a further fixture before the end of the week. Celtic play on Sunday at Hibs, so the gap at the top could change again within a day. Opta’s supercomputer gave Rangers a 22.92 per cent chance of winning the league earlier in the week, a figure that is certain to rise after a convincing victory.

The numbers are only a guide, but they reflect a genuine shift. A team that was written off after a poor start is now very much in the race, and the reason is partly tactical. McInnes has found a formation that suits his players, a front pair that scores goals and a winger who is beginning to deliver. Those are the foundations of a title challenge, and they are the result of sensible adaptation rather than rigid adherence to a system. The old-school label is a compliment as much as a description. It suggests a manager who is willing to use what works, regardless of fashion.

There are risks, of course. A formation that depends on two strikers is vulnerable if one of them is injured, and Rangers’ options in that area are limited. Shankland and Chermiti are out for a long time, and the only other recognised forward in the squad is Bojan Miovski, who has been used sparingly. If Naderi or Kelsy were to suffer an injury, McInnes would have to rethink his system, and the transfer window is still more than two months away. The chairman has urged patience on spending, and the club is expecting a quiet January, so any reinforcements would have to come from within or from loans. That is a concern, and the manager will need to manage the workloads of his strikers carefully.

Another risk is that opponents will adapt. Teams that have seen Rangers play with two strikers will begin to prepare for it, perhaps by dropping their lines deeper, pressing the midfielders or targeting the spaces behind the full-backs. A 4-4-2 can leave gaps in midfield if the wingers do not track back, and the better teams will try to exploit that. Rangers’ strength in the middle, with Nico Raskin and Dan Neil, should help to offset the danger, but it is something to watch. A formation that works well against a limited opponent may be less effective against a side with a more imaginative approach, and the true test will come in the matches against Celtic, Hearts and the other leading teams.

It is also worth remembering that the quality of the opposition matters. St Johnstone are a decent, well-organised side, but they are not one of the stronger teams in the league, and they were reduced to ten men before the match was decided. The red card for Kai Fotheringham, a studs-up challenge on Raskin that was confirmed by VAR, made the closing stages easier for the home side. Those caveats do not take away from the quality of Rangers’ play, but they do suggest that the margin of victory flattered them slightly. A 2-0 or 3-0 win would have been a fair reflection of the first hour, and the final scoreline owed something to the visitors’ late indiscipline.

None of that should diminish what the team achieved. They scored four goals in terrible conditions, kept a clean sheet and showed the kind of control that had been missing at Dundee. The attacking play was fluid, the defending was organised and the substitutes made a difference. Djeidi Gassama, who came on for the final half-hour, set up Tochi Chukwuani for the fourth goal with a delightful pass, and Chukwuani, who had been criticised for his lack of impact, finished neatly. It was a collective performance, and it gave McInnes plenty of reasons to be pleased.

For supporters, the message is an encouraging one. The team is winning, the attack is clicking and the manager seems to have found a formula that works. The old-school label may sound like a criticism, but it is more of a compliment, because it implies a style that is built on fundamentals rather than gimmicks. Two strikers, wide players who deliver and a midfield that protects the defence are the basics of good football, and they are as effective now as they were thirty years ago. If Rangers can maintain that approach and keep their key players fit, they will have a real chance of challenging for the title.

In the end, the three talking points from the match come together to tell a coherent story. The partnership of Naderi and Kelsy gives Rangers a balanced and productive attack. Kim’s emergence as a creative force on the left provides the quality and unpredictability that every title-chasing team needs. And the team’s response to a difficult spell at the start of the second half suggests a growing resilience, even if the problem of seeing out games has not been completely solved. None of these things guarantees success, but together they are a strong foundation. The next few weeks will show whether they are enough