Cyriel Dessers affected by Philippe Clement at Rangers as unpredictable striker change spotted
Philippe Clement has improved Cyriel Dessers since arriving at Rangers as the unpredictable striker has stopped making “stupid runs” and constantly being offside, says Derek Ferguson.
The Nigerian international has rebounded from a difficult start after signing last summer to lead the line regularly amidst a slew of attacking injuries in the Light Blues squad.
After his goal in a losing effort at Celtic on 11 May he now has a total of 21 goals and eight assists in all competitions, with infuriating misses and miscues gradually reducing as the campaign has gone on.
While Ferguson believes some of the praise for Dessers’ attitude amounts to the minimum requirement for a Gers player he does accept the striker has shown real quality at times this term.
Speaking exclusively to Ibrox News he said: “Dessers is an interesting one because I hear people saying, ‘Oh he gives you 100%, he gives it everything’. Well he bloody well should because that’s your job as soon as you cross the white line, that’s a given.
“But he’s shown at moments that he has that quality, but at times you just don’t know what you’re going to get.
“He’s like Marmite, you love him then you hate him, you don’t know. But I think Dessers has got better under Clement, because earlier on in the season he was getting caught offside, making stupid runs.
“He’s starting to think about the game a wee bit better, but his finishing, of course, he needs to have that calm head in front of goal.”
Rangers need striker reinforcements in the transfer window
Dessers certainly has his faults but he has shown more of a willingness to rise to the challenge, on and off the pitch, than some in the current squad.
At times his influence has been minimal but that may owe as much to the deficiencies of his teammates, while his inconsistent finishing is all his own responsibility.
If Philippe Clement brings in a genuine number one goalscorer this summer, with a move for Lawrence Shankland from Hearts long predicted, it would take some pressure off Dessers’ shoulders to be the lone number nine available.
In fairness to the 29-year-old he has carried that burden better than most would have expected after his early struggles, and he would seem to have shown more than enough to keep himself in Clement’s plans for next season.
In other Rangers news, the Light Blues have entered the race to snap up an in-demand Scottish sensation.
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