Rangers ace laying foundation for prolific campaign in cup
Published:
Rangers have begun the 2016-17 season in merciless mood with four wins from four in the Scottish League Cup and one man has been taking minimal prisoners in front of goal.
It may only have been the initial phase of the League Cup but, after a quartet of strikes in one less appearance, Martyn Waghorn is beginning to look like a genuine threat to Leigh Griffiths’ Ladbrokes Premiership top-scorer crown.
Although more rigorous examinations await than those posed by Annan and Stanraer, of Ladbrokes League Two and League One respectively, the 26-year-old has already penetrated a top-flight defence.
Waghorn had the last word in a 2-0 victory over Motherwell in the Gers’ opening fixture, polishing off the Fir Park residents’ resistance in the 90th minute on July 16th.
Mark Warburton’s side are 10/3 shots to convert this impressive start into League Cup glory later in the season, while odds of 5/1 say Waghorn finishes the season as the Ladbrokes Premiership’s leading marksman.
Waghorn’s knack of finding the net played a pivotal part in helping the Old Firm club realise their Championship title ambitions last season and also scooped him the Players’ Player of the Season Award at Ibrox.
The former Leicester striker scored 20 times in 25 second-tier outings and finished the season with sparkling figures of 28 in 36 across all competitions.
However, usurping the 5/2 favourite to top the Ladbrokes Premiership scoring charts will be no mean feat for Waghorn or any other leading fancies.
Celtic’s Griffiths set a very high bar of 31 league strikes for the champions, finishing a fantastic personal campaign with several individual accolades other than the top-scorer gong.
The former Hibernian striker has already netted twice for Brendan Rodgers’ men in European competition in 2016/17, so a fiercely competitive top scorer race should lie in store.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
