Cyriel Dessers tells fans they need to be 'very happy' James Tavernier is at Rangers
11/09/2024 07:41 AM
Cyriel Dessers admits he is baffled by the criticism his Rangers skipper James Tavernier receives at the club.
And the Nigerian striker has reminded fans they should be ‘very happy’ the right-back remains a Rangers player.
Tavernier has copped flak from all corners this season with the captain struggling to display his best form amid a challenging time for the team.
He takes the brunt of the criticism, some may argue unfairly, but Rangers fans generally have had enough of the Englishman who has been with the club since 2015.
Tavernier was dropped for the Olympiacos draw on Thursday and has been substituted out of recent games by Philippe Clement, most recently against Motherwell in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final.
But despite Tavernier’s struggles, Dessers has launched an impassioned defence of his teammate who has contributed ‘unbelievably’ for Rangers over the years.
Dessers launches staunch Tavernier defence
As quoted in the Daily Record, Dessers said: "He's our skipper. For me that’s nothing special. I think that’s normal. He’s our captain. He’s our leader. He will always lead the team out.
“That’s how it is in our dressing room. He leads by example all the time. That’s it. Obviously, James is an amazing player. The things he did already for this club are unbelievable.
"Also in these things you can see he’s not only an amazing player, he’s also an amazing human being. He’s a great leader.
“He has a big role in our dressing room as well. I’m not surprised by that. I don’t understand the criticism he gets.
"If I just look at his stats as a right full-back, 400 games for this club, he won the league, he won cups. The things he did already here, all the years that he’s been here, his goals, his assists, that says it all for him.
"He keeps going every day in training. He’s there, he’s working hard every day in the gym. I think that speaks for him.
"I think we have to be, not just us as players, but also the staff, I think also the fans. We need to be very happy to have James Tavernier in our club."
Dessers on missing big chances for Rangers
Dessers also addressed his own situation at Rangers after the draw with Olympiacos which was earned thanks to his well-taken finish.
Despite his goal, the 29-year-old still received the wrath of the fans for missing two glaring chances in the first-half in Greece which could have given Rangers all three points instead of one.
On his missed chances, Dessers responded: "This is life as a striker. I was watching the Champions League this week, and I see unbelievable strikers miss chances. So who am I, as Cyriel Dessers, not to miss chances?
“Obviously, you're always going to miss more than you score. That's the life of a striker. You know that there will always be a perception about that, but that's life.
“If I would score three chances every game then I would probably not be at Rangers either.”
