If ever there was a case of a player believing his own hype, it’s Olwethu Makhanya. Rangers’ rising star South African centre back had grown into an outstanding asset in the Rangers rearguard. Seeing his value skyrocket from £3 million to over £12 million, according to Transfermarkt and other data sources, the former Philadelphia Union man was on the crest of a wave. A call up to the national team followed, having been called up to the World Cup squad but not selected to play. And he became a prominent part of South Africa’s AFCON qualifiers.

Olwethu Makhanya form takes a worrying turn

The problem is that Olwethu Makhanya never came back from the international break. From the robust, sturdy, effortless force that Makhanya was before the break, the tough defender returned a shadow of his previous self. While not absolutely terrible, he’s definitely nowhere near the robust level required and it has not helped Rangers’ rearguard, especially on our travels. While Rangers secured a fairly comfortable 2-0 win away in Paisley, Makhanya certainly did not play his part in that. And Rangers’ goals were both rather fortunate. Of course, what matters is the final result, not necessarily the circumstances. But Rangers are riding a little bit of luck at present. And Makhanya’s performances seem to be part of that luck.

Olwethu Makhanya form compared with Alex Gogic

We don’t quite know what happened with this lad. He looks a lot more lost and he looks like he is nowhere near as strong or reading the game as well as he did beforehand. This boy would stroll through matches. He would beat opponents. He would clear balls with ease and he made the game look effortless. We saw a defender doing exactly that in Paisley, but it wasn’t him. It was his opposite number, St Mirren’s Alex Gogic. The Cypriot international has had one heck of a time in Paisley and is a very popular member of Craig McLeish’s squad. And many fans have actually proposed him as a potential squad member, nay, even a first team member for Rangers, such is his robust nature and effortless power. He was everything that Makhanya appeared to be until recently. But at the moment the South African is well short of this. And Gogic himself had a great one in Paisley.

Olwethu Makhanya form must improve after the break

Consequently, we do hope that Makhanya starts to rediscover his previous form. The problem is he’s about to go, like everybody else, back on another international break, which probably comes at a bit of a strange time for Rangers. The team hasn’t been firing on all cylinders since returning from the previous break, with two draws away knocking some points off the board. Naturally, of course, Celtic have lost and drawn as well. So it’s not like either side has been fluid.

But we want the proper Makhanya to come back because that was one heck of a player. At the moment, he’s a mere shadow of that. We’d like to see the original player who was rising to such prominence previously. And we obviously know he is still in there. But for some reason that player did not come back from the international break. We hope we see him again.