'Bit harsh' – BBC Sportsound pundit reacts to what he saw Rangers star do tonight

Rangers star John Souttar was criticised by James McFadden for missing a chance to equalise for Scotland against Croatia on 12 October.

Speaking on BBC Sportsound (12 October, 6:14pm), McFadden acknowledged that while Souttar’s attempted header was a difficult one, he could have done more to test Dominik Livakovic.

Souttar, starting for the Tartan Army after playing every minute for the Gers so far this season, glanced his effort wide of the far post as Scotland unsuccessfully tried to draw level during a 2-1 loss in Zagreb.

McFadden said: “It’s not a great ball and he is stretching but I think that he can get more on it.

“It’s almost like he’s trying to just take the sting off it and guide it into the far post instead of going and attacking it, and really asking Livakovic – I might be being a bit harsh on him – to make a save, but it looked like he could get more on it than he actually did.”

John Souttar to become ever-present for Rangers and Scotland

Although his finishing was lacking in front of goal for Scotland, Souttar was arguably the most solid of his defenders at the other end as two lapses in concentration from the flanks cost them in Zagreb.

Winning just his tenth cap, Souttar did more than enough to keep his place in the starting XI when Steve Clarke’s side face Portugal on 15 October, and that’ll be both good and bad news for Philippe Clement.

Only Jack Butland has played the same number of minutes as Souttar this season and the possibility of an injury to the centre-back would leave Clement with big shoes to fill.

However, if Souttar can improve on his Croatia performance by keeping the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Diogo Jota and Rafael Leao at bay, the 28-year-old’s stock will rise significantly.

There’s clearly still plenty of work to do on what he does in front of goal, but with tough defensive tests coming up for club and country, Souttar is well-placed to continue his strong start to the season.

In other Rangers news, Hugh Keevins has warned of a “crisis” potentially brewing after a behind-closed-doors update at Ibrox.

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