Rangers: Struggling Connor Goldson exit verdict as Ibrox ace under par for Philippe Clement

Connor Goldson has been short of his best this season but there is "absolutely" still a role for him at Rangers moving forward says Derek Ferguson.

The Englishman, 31, has been a regular starter at Ibrox ever since he arrived from Brighton in 2018 but, despite retaining his place throughout this term, has been exposed with some regularity even as Philippe Clement's side have revived their campaign.

But Ferguson compares Goldson to captain and friend James Tavernier as an important leadership figure in the dressing room, with both deserving of respect for playing through knocks and putting in so many appearances for the club.

He spoke exclusively to Ibrox News and said: “Keeping Goldson on? Absolutely. You can see for his age the number of games that he’s played [how important he is].

“Like Tavernier, he’s had one bad injury which kept him out for maybe a couple of months. 

“Apart from that he’s been an ever-present. And again, like Tavernier, the thing I like about these two guys, they will play with injuries. They play when they’re not 100% fit.

“Has this been his best season? Absolutely not, he’s struggled a little bit. You can see that in Europe, he’s maybe lost that little bit of sharpness sometimes that you need. So he’s look a little bit leggy.

“But would you keep him on board? Yeah, because I think he’s one of the leaders in that group."

Connor Goldson going nowhere at Rangers?

John Souttar has probably performed the better under Clement in recent months, but there is still no obvious long-term replacement currently available for Goldson.

Leon Balogun has been decent when called upon but at his age was probably somewhat of a stop-gap addition this season, while Ben Davies clearly hasn't convinced and appears to be available to leave.

Leon King has barely been spotted this season and fellow youngster Johnly Yfeko hasn't made the first-team breakthrough properly.

So while the manager is bound to look to strengthen his options in the summer it would still be some surprise to see him fully jettison Goldson.

In other Rangers news, a new Ibrox star has received an important international offer and he wants to take it.

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