Livingston boss Gary Holt has warned Rangers that he won’t give up Livi’s on-loan striker Ryan Hardie easily.
The Lions boss has watched the youngster bagged his fourth goal in four games as Livi managed to gain good points away to Hibs and Dundee in the past five days.
Whilst Rangers could bring Hardie back in January, Holt thinks Steven Gerrard should be looking elsewhere for a replacement striker in January.
“I think Rangers will be delighted that he is scoring goals. You can’t forget that he has been out for eight months and although we are reaping the rewards of having him, we are also giving him a platform to play, the Livi boss told the Daily Record.
“ We won’t be sending him back. He is a massive asset. We’ve been fortunate to have boys who have stepped in and been able to do a job but to have Ryan, a natural goalscorer, is important,” he added.
Hardie has to stay at Livingston, for his own good
Hardie’s goal against Hibs proved he is a natural talent. A long ball from Declan Gallagher was gathered by Hardie, who burst past Darren McGregor. The Rangers loanee then put the ball beyond Adam Bogdan, which rounded off a superb move.
There’s no fancy parts to Hardie’s game, you just put the ball in front of him, and he will finish.
The Rangers loanee is the goalscorer Livi have missed throughout the season. A horrific start to the season saw Hardie miss the first four months of the season. If his return to action is anything to go by, however, then he’s making up for lost time.
Hardie will be better off staying at Livingston, at least for the rest of this season. The youngster is only going to improve by playing weekly football, which he will enjoy at the Tony Macaroni Arena.
The Rangers loanee has just come back from injury, so it’s still to be seen if Hardie can carry this form for a sustained period of time.
Nobody would be better off if Hardie was to cut short his spell at Livingston.