“He has been saying all week that he has a very good left foot, so I’m going to score on it,” Perhaps he really is a magician after all.
“He’s said I’ve got a very good left foot all week and there you go, I go and score on it. Maybe he is a magic man after all.”
“It’s a position I have not played in before,” Cantwell continued. “As a player, you do as the manager asks, the manager has asked me to play there and has seen something in me.”
Since arriving in mid-October, Clement has quickly adopted a 4-2-3-1 shape, moving away from the narrow attacking configuration that Michael Beale favoured when rebuilding the squad over summer.
That’s presented opportunities for some, with the squad lacking depth in wide areas, and left Clement with solutions to find in other areas. Abdallah Sima has made the left-wing his own, at least until Rabbi Matondo returns to the fold, while Sam Lammers has started five of six games at No.10. Cantwell’s played most of his minutes from the right of midfield, while Scott Wright and Ross McCausland have also found game time ahead of James Tavernier.
But why, with Cantwell widely regarded as the best No.10 in the squad and more comfortable cutting in from his left, is Clement picking him in a position “he hasn’t played before”?
After all, presumably, there’s a reason no other coach has utilised Cantwell in that role before. After arriving from Norwich in January, he began his Ibrox career on that side of the pitch as part of a midfield three with Tavernier always providing width. Time spent in the outside channel was limited compared to the No.13’s influence in the centre.
It was the No.10 slot where Cantwell settled and thrived towards the end of last season, enjoying positional autonomy to impact the game and move where he saw fit. Speaking in April, he commented: “I said when I came here the manager is going to give me the freedom to play the way I want to and I think you’re starting to see that because I’m picking up the ball in lots of places.”
Looking at where Cantwell played his league minutes last season, that split between right central midfield and subsequent move to No.10 is clear.
