Glasgow Rangers boosted their chances of reaching the knockout stages of the Europa League as they secured a 2-1 win over Sparta Prague at Ibrox on Thursday evening.
The win gave Philippe Clement his fifth win across his opening six matches in charge, and it appears as though he is slowly but surely building the confidence back up at the club.
The Gers currently sit second in the group, just a point behind Real Betis, yet with a home tie against Aris Limassol to come at the end of the month, Clement will be hopeful that another three points can be secured.
Despite the win and an overall solid performance, there were a few underperformers during the tie, with Sam Lammers being one.
Sam Lammers’ game vs Sparta Prague in numbers
The Dutchman was once again deployed behind main striker Danilo in the number ten role, and he was looked upon to be one of the main creative outlets for the side against Sparta.
The 26-year-old largely allowed the game to bypass him, however, as he failed to generate any meaningful attacking contributions, while he also managed to take just 39 touches, two fewer than Jack Butland in goal.
Lammers completed just 77% of his attempted passes while he also failed to have a shot on target during the tie and lost possession nine times throughout, proving to be lackadaisical with the ball at his feet.
Thankfully, the Light Blues managed to win the match, yet Lammers wasn’t at the races and this is fast becoming a regular theme since he moved to the club in the summer.
Sam Lammers’ season in numbers
The forward cost £3m from Serie A side Atalanta, yet he has failed to deliver performances of that type of quality.
Indeed, he has played 22 matches for the Gers since the start of the current season yet managed to find the back of the net on just two occasions, a poor record considering the financial outlay required to sign him.
The former Eintracht Frankfurt player currently ranks fourth across the squad for big chances missed in the Premiership this term (four) while also ranking in a lowly tenth for big chances created (one) and 20th for key passes per game (0.5), hardly the statistics of a £3m signing.
It is now clear that Clement must move Todd Cantwell back into the number ten position and give someone like Ross McCausland the opportunity to shine on the right wing, as it isn’t working out for Lammers.
His signing proves that Michael Beale failed to really improve the side during the summer transfer window, despite undergoing a major rebuild of the senior squad.
Clement may be able to get a tune out of him, yet for the current moment in time, a shake-up is drastically needed, and the Belgian must ditch him in order for his team to grow.
The Light Blues face Livingston this weekend and all three points would be the perfect end to a wonderful seven days, no doubt about it.