‘Unbelievable’ – Ally McCoist and Alan Hutton gush over Rangers skipper James Tavernier
Rangers legend Ally McCoist and Alan Hutton have heaped praise on captain James Tavernier for his performances and improvements over recent years.
The skipper has established himself as one of the first names on the team sheet in recent years, amassing an incredible record of 77 goals and 105 assists in 332 games for the club from right-back.
Ahead of their historic Europa League last 16 second-leg with Red Star, the BT Sport pundits were discussing the 30-year-old and both described his improvements defensively and output going forward as ‘unbelievable’.
“I’ll tell you what, if he was a striker you’d be happy with your numbers,” Hutton said. “As a full-back, to even reach those kinds of numbers is absolutely incredible. He’s just really gone from strength to strength for me.
“Not only has he got 77 goals, 100+ assists, I think he’s actually got better defensively – one v one.
“That was the part of his game that needed improvement and he’s obviously worked on that because you can see it in these high-level competitions, he’s playing to such a top-level and it’s unbelievable what he’s been doing at this moment in time.”
Blues’ all-time top scorer McCoist couldn’t agree more, adding: “Listen, unless my maths is wrong that’s your right full-back giving you a goal or assist every second game. Which is unbelievable going forward.
“He has been fantastic. He’s led by example, he’s received a lot of criticism. I’ve been critical of some of his defensive play earlier on as well, but Alan is spot on. He’s improved enormously defensively and he’s clearly worked at it.”
Captain fantastic
This Rangers rebuild in the last decade has been spectacular but you’d be hard-pressed to find a player more influential than Tavernier.
His numbers are sensational but he has shown incredible improvement year on year to become the best right-back in the country and key man for the club. The fact he’s uncapped for England is quite frankly a joke.
His set-pieces are spectacular but aside from that his comfort on the ball in tight spaces, his explosiveness and ability to get up and down the wing and his leadership have helped shape this Rangers side into the force they currently are.
He will undoubtedly go down in Rangers folklore as a club legend and deservedly so, but he would be even higher in those rankings if he can lead the club to European glory.
As hard as it will be, a second consecutive Scottish league title would help too and if he continues with his performances then there’s every chance he could end up with both.
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