History should tell Rangers titles are won from the back

ATTACK wins you games, defence wins you titles. I think those words can be traced back to Sir Alex Ferguson, but I know for sure that my old friend Richard Gough would agree with them.

It was exactly how he looked at a season. Defending was done with pride and leadership every single week. It was the foundation of success. What he gave to Rangers in the time I was there was just incredible.

Even as someone whose career was very much about attacking, I would go along with Gough and Ferguson to some extent.

It’s why there are grounds for encouragement in the six clean sheets Rangers have produced at the start of this title race.

Steven Gerrard is absolutely right to say his focus is on success at the end of the season, not on records being set right now.

But getting through 38 games in a tight contest requires you to be rock-solid. You need that feeling of reliability to provide a platform for your attacking players to really flourish, just as Ryan Kent has done so far.

Collectively, it is something that can grow more confidence and belief.

In that sense, Rangers have managed to take some initial, sure-footed steps down what is a very long road.

You have to admit the opposition hasn’t always posed the toughest attacking threats. That’s part of the story.

But, in saying that, when I think back to my Rangers days I can’t really remember going through a period without conceding in six successive games.

That’s a really difficult feat regardless. It is also very much a team effort and the shape just now from a defensive standpoint will please the Ibrox coaching staff.

There have been some little tactical alterations for different matches and it is not always easy to strike the perfect balance between attack and defence — especially when you have as much possession as Rangers do domestically. But the rewards for getting it absolutely right can be immense.

I think back to my season at AC Milan for a truly world-class example. That back four of Mauro Tassotti, Alessandro Costacurta, Franco Baresi and Paolo Maldini is one of the greatest-ever defences.

They played together for years and honed their craft to an extraordinary degree. Individually, they were magnificent players but it was also about how they were orchestrated as a unit and the way they related to the rest of the team.

Baresi was the big leader, an extraordinary presence. When he gave the shout, all four moved at exactly the same time and with perfect positioning. It was unbelievable to watch.

We used to play five-a-side games in training and I honestly can’t remember getting past Maldini to score. It was impossible. He was just so good.

In that 1993/94 season, Milan only conceded 15 goals in 34 Serie A games to win the title.

In 12 Champions League games, there were only two goals conceded on the way to claiming the trophy. Absolutely phenomenal.

I reflect on it because that team under Fabio Capello could be considered one of the best in European football history.

It was at the very highest level, with some phenomenal attacking players. But the foundation was an incredible defence and how it was organised.

Football has changed a lot since then, yet the importance of having a cohesive unit — where everyone understands their roles exactly — is still significant.

Rangers are adapting things to continue looking for the right formula. If anything, Borna Barisic is often playing even more advanced to utilise his excellent crossing. And we know that James Tavernier is probably better when going forward.

Obviously, they both very much play as modern full-backs, almost like wingers.

It’s totally different from someone like Tassotti, for example, who was always extremely careful in his positioning. That makes protection from midfield all the more important to limit the threat of counterattacks. It’s one reason why Gerrard often deploys two sitting players there, with Steven Davis and Ryan Jack filling the roles in Saturday’s comfortable 2-0 win over Hamilton.

An interesting aspect of these games being behind closed doors is that you can hear just how much shouting and organisation Connor Goldson does in the centre of the defence. It’s vital to have that kind of presence there, particularly when the player on his left changes quite often.

I think you can see growth in Goldson and he is undoubtedly one of the men Gerrard will rely upon in the weeks and months to come.

There is nothing worse in a team than having too many quiet players. At whatever level you are playing, you need your leaders in different areas of the pitch.

I think that is something Gerrard will have emphasised when he looked at this season.

Where all this takes Rangers is too early to say. The next block of Premiership fixtures might throw up tougher challenges.

For now, though, I’m sure they are making Gough happy when he sees those zeros next to the opposition.