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When Jon Flanagan was hooked at half-time after a lamentable first 45 minutes against Hearts it became the third time in 15 league games that the right-back has suffered such an indignity - an astonishing 20 per cent of his starting league appearances.

For a player Steven Gerrard has suggested is fighting for his future, the 27-year-old Scouser may well have just played himself out of a longer stay in Govan.

That the player's obvious shortcomings as an attacking full-back haven't been more exposed is testament to the reliability and durability of captain James Tavernier.

If some have criticised the Englishman for his defensive nous those voices don't half fade to a whisper when the stark reality of the alternative comes into focus.

While Tavernier has his flaws, he's by a distance the best in the country at right-back and his status as essentially irreplaceable has only been heightened by an absence that will now be extended to Wednesday's match against Ross County.

With the fallout from yesterday's defeat in Edinburgh still at the inquisition stage we assess Steven Gerrard's options to replace their still injured captain for what is now a critical game.

Jon Flanagan

(Image: Rangers FC/Press Association Images)

Many will look to fillet the former Liverpool right-back but the truth is that the role he is expected to fulfill at Ibrox is not his natural game.

He's a defensive player whose strength lies in his ability to make tackles and sniff out danger rather than maraud down the wing to whip in crosses.

When the expectation has been he provide defensive stability, Flanagan has been a reliable, diligent operator.

A cursory glance at his minutes also tells a story. The player has completed 90 minutes in the first team just twice in the last four months. He's not had a decent run to get himself up to speed.

Extenuating circumstances aside though, the notion persists the evolution of this Rangers team has left him somewhat behind.

The role of the full-backs as an attacking force has become more and more the central attacking weapon of Gerrard's team.

With Flanagan in the side, opponents know they can overload the left to deal with Barisic and Kent while leaving the right unattended because he won't penetrate.

There are other players now available who can better fit the tactical plan.

Nathan Patterson

(Image: SNS Group)

The prototype of their missing captain, Patterson would give Rangers a similar forward-thinking dimension.

He has excelled under Graeme Murty in the successful youth team this year, helping his teammates to a terrific run in the UEFA Youth League and Tunnock's Teacake Caramel Wafer Cup.

It's form that hasn't gone unnoticed by the first team manager who brought the kid along for the ride on the mid-season trip to Dubai then pitched him in for his debut against Stranraer.

He pushed into terrific attacking positions and snapped into the tackle but while Patterson was solid, he wasn't helped by his colleagues in what was a flat team performance.

The manager singles him out for praise after the match but the notion persists that he still has some filling out to do physically and that it would be expecting a lot to see him pitched in for what is now a crucial game.

Matt Polster

(Image: Getty Images)

It's perhaps telling that since his arrival in Scotland, the American's glamorous wife Brittany has probably had a higher profile than he has.

A versatile operator who can play in defence or midfield, he has a decent track record of minutes in the MLS, a league many would say is of a better standard than the Premiership.

With scant minute on the pitch to prove his worth, Polster has had to bide his time for the spotlight to shine but for 45 minutes at Tynecastle he was Rangers' best player.

He pushed forward constantly, using the ball intelligently and showing a promising level of combination with Joe Aribo down the right side.

The difference from the first 45 was stark and Polster has surely played his way into the starting line-up against Ross County.