Rangers ace names two international teammates key to big win including Celtic star
03/21/2025 05:30 AM
John Souttar has turned into such a key figure for Rangers, but for his country too.
Souttar was at the heart of the Scotland defence last night as they beat Greece 1-0. The Gers hero and his three defensive colleagues, Anthony Ralston, Grant Hanley and Andy Roberton, repelled everything the Greeks threw at them as they held on for a massive first leg victory in their Nations League play-off.
He was hailed by the Scottish press for his role in the win but it’s nothing new – Souttar was branded ‘sensational’ for his Poland performance the last time he was on international duty.
And his latest herioc display comes off the back of a fine run for form at club level too.
Ally McCoist branded the ex-Hearts man ‘unbelievable’ after he helped Gers to victory against Fenerbahce – adding “he must have won about 100 headers.”
But the modest 28-year-old has picked out two teammates for praise.
Rangers star John Souttar praises Ralston and Hanley
The inclusions of Ralston and Hanley by Steve Clarke were questioned by some Scotland fans given their lack of minutes for Celtic and Birmingham recently.
But both were part of the back four that stood firm.
Despite being the one heralded by others, Souttar has picked out those two as key to the result after doing one of the hardest things in football.
He told the gathered media post-match: "They were both outstanding tonight. It's probably the toughest thing in football to come into a game like that when you haven't been playing.
"So it's a huge credit to those boys and how they look after themselves that they were able to perform at that level. It's a really impressive result for us.
"We played a lot better in the first half but they're a good side and that's when we dug in and showed the other side of our game. We were under a lot of pressure, faced a lot of balls thrown into the box – but we dealt with it really well.
"There were times when we could have given ourselves a little bit more of a breather by keeping the ball better. But against a team with the home crowd behind them it's hard to make that happen. So you just sit in and try to hold out, which we did so we're happy."
Souttar Rangers contract situation
Rangers are currently being urged to tie Souttar down to a new contract given his current form and importance to the team.
There had been talk as far back as last summer that the defender was close to agreeing a new deal but there has been no news on that front.
With his current Ibrox contract up next summer, it would put minds at ease if his future was sorted soon.
