Martin can keep Miovski firing by unleashing “powerful” Rangers star
da pixbet： A collection of Glasgow Rangers supporters gathered outside Ibrox ahead of the League Cup clash with Hibernian to make their feelings clear about the state of play at the club.
da bet7： The fans who attended the ‘protest’ were voicing their anger towards Russell Martin and Patrick Stewart, following the dismal start to the 2025/26 campaign.
Rangers are winless in five in the Scottish Premiership, their worst start to a league campaign in 47 years, and were knocked out of the Champions League qualifiers by losing 9-1 on aggregate to Club Brugge.
It is, therefore, easy to understand why some supporters have decided that enough is enough and want a change in the dugout at this early stage of the season.
However, the board have stuck by their man and they were rewarded with a positive result against Hibernian on Saturday, as the Gers won 2-0 at Ibrox in the League Cup quarter-final clash.
Nicolas Raskin scoring after being omitted from the last two squads was one headline, but Bojan Miovski getting the monkey off his back was possibly the biggest positive to take away from the match.
Why Rangers need to get Bojan Miovski firing
The Macedonia international scored the second goal of the game for the Light Blues by arriving in the six-yard box at the perfect time to slot the ball into the back of the net from close range.
As you can see in the highlights above, Mikey Moore did well to hook a cross-cum-shot towards goal that allowed the summer signing from Girona to pounce to make it 2-0.
That was potentially a big moment for Miovski because it could be the first of many goals in a Rangers shirt and takes a bit of the pressure off him, as he now has his first goal for the club.
As you can see in the graphic above, the left-footed forward knows how to score goals on a regular basis in Scottish football, having grabbed 32 in two seasons with Aberdeen, and has the quality to step up in the big games.
Seven goals against Celtic and Rangers show that Miovski can be a difference-maker against top-quality opposition, but it is down to Martin to get the best out of him at Ibrox.
Miovski (25/26 Premiership)
Vs Celtic
Vs Hearts
Minutes
72
90
Shots
1
1
Goals
0
0
Passes
4
11
Key passes
0
0
Duels won
3/10
2/11
Stats via Sofascore
The statistics in the table above show that the Gers centre-forward struggled with the physicality of being a lone number nine in his first two appearances for the club, which both came in the Premiership.
This suggests that Martin needs to find a way to structure the team in a way that results in Miovski competing in fewer duels and focusing more on getting into the box to take shots at goal, after two shots in 162 Premiership minutes.
One way to free up the Macedonia international could be to bring summer signing Youssef Chermiti into the starting line-up to play with two strikers, or one striker and a shadow striker or number ten, depending on how you want to view it.
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Chermiti was signed from Everton in a deal worth up to £10m, the highest fee agreed for a signing since Tore Andre Flo in 2000, and that kind of outlay suggests that Martin needs to get him into the XI at some point.
Why Rangers should unleash Youssef Chermiti from the start
Thelo Aasgaard played as the number ten behind Miovski in the 2-0 win over Hibernian in the League Cup on Saturday, but failed to catch the eye with an impressive display.
The Norway international, who scored a hat-trick for his country against Moldova earlier this month, has not delivered a goal or an assist in seven appearances in all competitions so far for Rangers since his move from Luton in the summer.
His lack of impact at the top end of the pitch could open the door for Chermiti to come into the side as the player who plays closest to Miovski through the middle of the pitch.
Standing at 6 foot 4, the Portugal U21 international has the physical presence to occupy opposition defenders to free up the former Aberdeen man in the final third.
Chermiti has yet to prove himself to be a prolific scorer, with no competitive goals for Everton in his two years in the Premier League, but he could be a fantastic foil for Miovski to get the best out of the Macedonia international.
The 21-year-old star, who did show some promise as a scorer in pre-season last year, only made four appearances in the Premier League last term, but won 67% of his aerial duels, per Sofascore.
Chermiti’s physicality was really on show across his 18 appearances in the Premier League in the 2023/24 campaign, though, as the young marksman showed that he could compete with top-flight defenders on and off the ball.
23/24 Premier League
Youssef Chermiti per 90
Percentile rank vs STs
Tackle success rate
66.7%
Top 24%
Duels won
11.54
Top 1%
Aerial duels won
6.92
Top 4%
Aerial duel success rate
44.1%
Top 22%
Ball recoveries
4.51
Top 11%
Possession won in the final third
1.85
Top 1%
Stats via FotMob
As you can see in the table above, the Portuguese striker was excellent from a physical perspective for the Toffees in that season, competing brilliantly on the deck and in the air.
These statistics suggest that the 6 foot 4 giant has the tools to compete with Premiership centre-backs to occupy them and cause issues in duels, which would free Miovski up to focus on getting into goalscoring positions.
Chermiti, who was described as “powerful” by writer Kai Watson, could prevent the former Girona striker from needing to constantly compete in duels and waste his energy on a part of the game that he does not excel in.
Therefore, Martin could keep Miovski firing after his first goal for the club on Saturday by unleashing the summer signing from Everton over Aasgaard moving forward.