Cyriel Dessers is "constantly offside" because the Rangers striker "knows" he can't win a foot race against any defender, according to Tam McManus.

The BBC pundit reacted on Twitter on 12 November during the Light Blues' 2-0 win at Livingston to claim the Nigerian international "has no pace" and is always "stealing a yard" in an attempt to compensate.

The ex-Hibs striker suggested it shows Dessers' legs have gone having used the same trick in his own playing career after his own went.

McManus wrote: "The problem with Dessers is he has no pace. He tries to compensate for that by stealing a yard on defender to get a head start thus constantly offside.

"He wouldn't win a straight foot race with a defender & he knows it. Done it myself at tail end of my career when legs went!!"

Ongoing issue?

It shouldn't be overlooked that Dessers did actually score the opener in West Lothian for his sixth in a Rangers shirt across all competitions, but he caused another goal for Connor Goldson to be disallowed because he was beyond the last man in the build up, while he was also offside for another big chance in the first half that he still shot wide.

While there have been some positive signs the 28-year-old's return on a reported PS4.5million summer investment [Daily Mail, 4 July] has been disappointing.

And at that age, unless he is carrying some sort of injury that is affecting his acceleration, it is unlikely that he is going to get any faster.

Whether Philippe Clement is minded to stick with the former Cremonese forward or whether the Belgian might look to replace him in upcoming windows it won't help Rangers find success down either avenue if observers feel the same as McManus.

An ex-pro who played in the same position having identified the problem because he recognised it in himself isn't an especially encouraging sign.

Not all strikers rely on pace so there is surely scope for Dessers to positively impact Gers matches in other ways, but at the very least it does suggest the offside issue is unlikely to get significantly better.

In other Rangers news, a BBC Sportsound pundit was shocked by what a "petulant" Livi substitute did to the travelling Bears fans.

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