Emmanuel Fernandez made the headlines for all the wrong reasons after the 2-2 draw against Hearts, but he is not the only problem at Rangers.

Derek McInnes knows that he got his team selection wrong at Tynecastle, and rectified it early in the second half by bringing on Badredine Bouanani for Djeidi Gassama.

The team also lacked balance off the ball, and changes could be on the cards for the Premier Sports Cup semi-final against Aberdeen, their biggest match of the season.

Djeidi Gassama and Minsu Kim did not offer much off the ball

While Minsu Kim will rightly be criticised for losing the ball near the halfway line, what has gone unnoticed is his lack of effort off the ball. There were times when a number of the attacking players were sprinting back to hold their shape, and the South Korea international was not doing that.

The same can be said about Gassama on the other wing, who struggled both on the ball and off it too. The Mauritanian struggled to get involved in the game, and a lot of that is on McInnes, as he knows the winger’s strengths and weaknesses and still decided to start him.

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marlinsteven1962

Saying this for the last time Fernandez is by far one of the worst players in a blue Jersey I have seen he has been under different managers and he has not learned anything also dan neil gassama not good enough for our club we need a refresh in defence 2 to 3 defenders in jan if we want to compete in the league

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jammy1ne

We aren’t a winning team anymore , it looks like changes are needed , too many players gave nothing tonight , its ok winning at Ibrox , to win the league we have to win away from home Raskin being yellowed so early took him out the game he should have been replaced Gassama is a bench player not a starter, minsu was bullied, maybe its time to put godfrey in

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There is a high probability that McInnes drops Gassama to the bench for the Aberdeen clash and starts Minsu on the left and Bouanani on the right. The Gers boss could even revert to a back three and have wing-backs along with a number 10.

Ben Godfrey needs to start for Rangers over Emmanuel Fernandez

McInnes defended Fernandez in the aftermath of the game, which was the right thing to do. He said that no questions are asked of him when the Nigerian performs well, but each time he does not have a good game, people want him dropped.

However, what the 55-year-old would have noticed is that his centre-back is constantly letting his teammates down and even received a telling-off from Nicolas Raskin early on against Hearts. Ben Godfrey has shown he’s capable of starting for the Light Blues, and he has to come in for the Aberdeen game.

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georgeherriot11

Godfrey has to replace him and see how he performs alongside Makhanya. Fernandez is too unreliable and will cost us goals.

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Fans have wanted Fernandez to be dropped for weeks, and despite two good performances against Celtic, it cannot be denied that he is part of the problem. Whether or not McInnes takes the bold call is another question altogether.

Godfrey and Olwethu Makhanya will make a solid pairing, and it could be the game to make that change, as Aberdeen have an injury crisis and are not in the best form either.