Chris Sutton raises concern over James Tavernier at Rangers
Chris Sutton has praised the "remarkable" impact made by James Tavernier at Rangers, but says he continues to have doubts over the full-back's defensive ability.
Tavernier has 17 goals and nine assists in 34 Scottish Premiership outings this season, overtaking his tally of 25 direct goal involvements in the 2023-24 campaign.
While Sutton is a fan of the Gers skipper, he believes an improvement is needed to the defensive aspect of his game.
"Tavernier's numbers are remarkable," he wrote in his column for the Daily Record [4 May]. "For a full-back to provide so many assists is magnificent, even if I have my doubts defensively."
James Tavernier scoring Rangers goals for fun
There can be absolutely no denying the impact Tavernier has had in an attacking sense for Rangers, whether it is calmly converting penalties, scoring from long range or anything in between.
The 32-year-old never hides and would have more than played his part should the Light Blues go on to pip Celtic to the title this season.
However, he can also get caught out defensively, and that leaves him open to more than criticism than most in the side when the Gers fail to win.
Tavernier is an easy target, despite others in the team perhaps being more worthy of blame at times. That, though, comes with the nature of being captain.
As Sutton says, the defender's statistics are incredible, with not many defenders in football history boasting a better return season-on-season.
While he may have his shortcomings, Tavernier has been a very good servant for Rangers down the years and will hopefully be lifting another title high above his head later this month.
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