Kevin Thomson has waxed lyrical about a Rangers player who has managed to prove his critics wrong this season.

Derek McInnes has orchestrated change at Ibrox since joining in the summer, and the team appears to be unrecognisable from what it was at the start of last season.

Kevin Thomson has been pleased with Ryan Naderi’s impact at Rangers

Thomson, a Rangers TV employee, believes that Ryan Naderi has become a fan favourite among the Ibrox faithful. In his view, the Czechia striker would struggle to even make the playing eleven at the start of the season.

In his view, had Lawrence Shankland and Youssef Chermiti not been injured, Naderi would have found himself fourth in the pecking order behind Kevin Kelsy. The Venezuelan striker also joined this summer for big money and would have been guaranteed playing time ahead of his transfer.

Speaking about Naderi on The Breakdown, Thomson said: “I think Naderi has become almost a fan’s favourite. Probably at the start of the season, you could argue maybe no one would even put in the starting 11.

“If everyone was fit, he might have had limited game time or whatever but I think he’s a real handful and a real awkward character to try wrong word awkward player to to get hold of.”

Where does Naderi now stand if every striker is fit?

Given how the season has gone, Naderi is currently one of the first names on the team sheet for McInnes. There is an argument that he’s more influential than Kelsy as well, and offers more presence than both Shankland and Chermiti.

If we are to consider recent form and his performances throughout the course of the season, even with everyone fit, Naderi would be starting week in and week out. He has shown that he is so much more than a towering striker who relies on service from others.

Hopefully, he can remain fit and continue to score goals at a regular rate that can fire the Light Blues to the Scottish Premiership title come the end of May.