Sterling Likely to Miss Rangers' Falkirk Clash
Dujon Sterling has been tipped to miss Rangers’ trip to Falkirk, with former Ibrox forward Greg Stewart predicting the defender will be left out on the Bairns’ artificial surface.
Rangers arrive at this stage of the season with a very different look. A busy summer has left Derek McInnes with a deeper, more competitive squad and several players jostling for minutes as the campaign starts to take shape.
Among those pushing hardest are Ross McCrorie and Kosta Nedeljkovic. Both joined in the summer, both need games, and Falkirk away might be the night one of them plants a flag in the ground.
Stewart questions Sterling’s suitability for Falkirk surface
Speaking alongside Ian Durrant on the 5 Stars Podcast, Stewart zeroed in on the one factor everyone circles when Falkirk come up: the pitch.
“Astro turf as well, it always comes into play. So, it'll be interesting to see how the new boys, that are not used to it, take to it,” he said. “I don't think Sterling will play well because of that.”
That single line throws a spotlight on McInnes’ selection. If the manager shares those concerns, he has ready-made alternatives who will be desperate to seize any opening.
The artificial surface has long been an awkward subplot in these fixtures. Falkirk were granted a grace period to replace it after promotion to the Premiership the season before last, and they now stand alone in the top flight with an astro pitch, after Kilmarnock’s return to grass and Livingston’s relegation.
For a player like Sterling, whose game leans on power and timing, that could be enough to tilt the decision.
McCrorie and Nedeljkovic sense an opening
If Sterling does drop out, the door swings open for McCrorie or Nedeljkovic to step through.
McCrorie’s return to Ibrox in the summer brought with it Premiership know-how and the kind of versatility managers lean on across a long season. So far, though, his limited minutes have underwhelmed. A start at Falkirk would be more than a chance to get sharp; it would be a chance to reset the narrative.
Nedeljkovic, on loan from Aston Villa, offers a different profile again. Still bedding into Scottish football, still learning McInnes’ demands, he represents another option as the manager pieces together his preferred defensive combinations.
One game on plastic in Falkirk will not define their Rangers careers. But it can move the dial. Impress here and you do not just get another start; you wedge yourself into the manager’s thoughts when the bigger tests come around.
That matters in a squad that has added serious depth across the park. Every position now has a queue. Nobody can afford to drift.
Durrant expects McInnes to trust his core
While Stewart flagged the pitch and Sterling, Durrant looked at something else: momentum.
“I don't think he'll tinker too much, I think. After that result and how well they played, and how well they battled,” he said.
For Durrant, the style of the opposition also plays into Rangers’ hands.
“They all like to play a brand of football, which I think will suit Rangers. They always like to be on the front foot, they knock it about.
“I'm sure Rangers now, if they're on their A game, they can pick them off.”
That sounds like a call for continuity. Keep the spine, respect the surface, but don’t rip up what worked in the previous outing.
So McInnes stands at a familiar managerial crossroads: protect certain players from a tricky pitch or lean on the team that just delivered for him.
A small decision with big implications
Falkirk’s astro pitch is more than a footnote here. It shapes the debate around Sterling, it shapes how much risk McInnes is willing to take, and it shapes which of his new signings gets the nod.
If Stewart is right and Sterling sits it out, this tie becomes more than a routine early-season test. It turns into a live audition for McCrorie or Nedeljkovic.
One of them could walk off that artificial turf having changed their place in the pecking order – and perhaps nudged the direction of McInnes’ rebuild in the process.
