John Souttar delivers ‘massive’ Rangers verdict amid Scottish Premiership admission
John Souttar insists he is fully focused on a “massive” Scottish Premiership campaign for Rangers rather than attempting to claim a spot in Scotland’s EURO 2024 squad.
The centre-back has become a vital aspect of Philippe Clement’s squad since the Belgian arrived at Ibrox in October, starting all of the Gers’ last 12 league matches, only being substituted in one of those.
Having created a formidable partnership with Connor Goldson in the backline, Souttar will be keen to push Rangers towards their second league title in the last decade.
Speaking in a press conference on Friday (12 April), quoted by News Letter, he said: “To be honest, my full focus is on Rangers. It is massive for us at the end of the season, there are six, or seven weeks left and everyone knows what is at stake. So for me, the full focus is on every game.
“I know it is cliche but it is so important we go into every game with full concentration and full belief in what we have been doing for the last months since the gaffer came in.”
Can John Souttar lead Rangers to the Scottish Premiership title?
Though James Tavernier will always be wearing the captain’s armband at Ibrox, the determination and fight shown by Souttar have been exemplary, especially against Celtic.
The defender finished the Old Firm derby with a bandage wrapped around his head, with blood dripping from the wound, but he battled on to finish the game and help salvage a 3-3 draw with their rivals.
There is no understating the importance of that single point, with the two sides separated by one point at the top of the Scottish Premiership table.
Rangers still have a game in hand, a highly-anticipated match against Dundee at Dens Park, which has now been postponed twice due to the state of the pitch.
If Souttar can help lead the Light Blues to the league title, he should, undoubtedly, be on the plane to Euro 2024 as Scotland face a tough group stage against Germany, Switzerland and Hungary.
In other Rangers news, Barry Ferguson is raging about a “shambles” of a development involving the Gers.
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