IT is a situation which has already delivered its share of disappointment and promises much in the way of letdowns and disgruntlement to come.
Nicky Clark concedes, though, that having the long shadows of Kris Boyd and Kenny Miller, these returning heroes from more prosperous times, looming consistently over both him and Jon Daly will give Rangers an edge over Hearts as a potentially fascinating SPFL Championship campaign plays out.
Clark, in his second season at Ibrox, does show signs of improvement. He proved at Queen of the South - scoring 41 times in all competitions in his final campaign - that he certainly knows his way to goal, but it is perhaps a testament to his all-round game that you see him offering much more than just the predatory instinct of a straight-up poacher. He is not that type.
That, mind you, did not stop him from being dumped on the substitutes' bench the moment Miller came back from a calf problem, with the former Scotland forward linking up splendidly with Boyd to orchestrate a 6-1 victory over Raith Rovers on Saturday.
Ally McCoist claims Clark was unfortunate to be excluded from the starting XI. The Ibrox manager has also made a point of praising the way he has developed his game awareness. Less encouraging for Clark is that he puts much of that down to the fact the 23-year-old has Boyd and Miller to study and learn from in training.
Clark was given an outing alongside Daly in the 2-0 Petrofac Training Cup win over East Fife on Tuesday evening and helped set the Irishman up for the opening goal, but, to the outsider at least, it seems inevitable he will have to be content with a place on the bench for much of this term.
McCoist, after all, has made it clear he never once considered resting Boyd during the course of an unprecedented run of seven matches without a goal pre-Raith. Miller, meanwhile, brought something fresh and inventive to the team during his reappearance at the weekend.
Those entrusted with getting the job done at Bayview appear destined to be called upon when games are not going to plan or issues such as fatigue, injury and suspension come into play. It might not suit Clark, but, when asked if having four interchangeable forwards is likely to give Rangers an advantage as the stresses and strains of a lengthy campaign intensify, his response, not delivered through gritted teeth to the degree that you would notice, was clear. "Yeah, definitely," he said. "At a club like Rangers, you need a big squad and the gaffer did well bringing in the players he did over the summer, so I think that is an advantage for us.
"You saw that with me and Jon starting at East Fife and Kenny and Boydy coming off the bench. David Templeton has been on the bench as well, so you can see that we have a lot of good players at the club, but we need that. It is a long season. We need to keep our heads down and make sure we win all the games that come up for us. I'm sure Hearts will have a wee stumble somewhere along the way, so it's down to us."
Clark's quick, staccato answers do not always provide the most detailed of insights, but he is open about the emotions he has been experiencing of late. He feels he has been performing to a decent standard. Being left out of the team as soon as Miller was available clearly stung him. "There is a wee bit of disappointment, but any player would feel the same when you are doing well," he said. "Kenny and Boydy are really good, experienced players, so I just need to get my head down and keep working hard. I've been happy with the way I've been playing. The team has been doing well and we've had a few good results, too. There is a bit of disappointment, but that's just football for you. I've said it a few times now, but we have loads of good players at the club who have international caps and you have to expect boys like that to come in and play. When my chance comes, I have to take it."
Before the visit to Methil McCoist made a point of singling Clark out for praise and appears happy with his work behind-the-scenes. "Nicky can consider himself unlucky to be left out. He is, without doubt, coming on leaps and bounds. His all-round game has continued to improve and I honestly believe a lot of that is down to the fact he is training and playing with Kris and Kenny."
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