GOLDSON, THE IBROX IRON MAN
After suffering a heart scare and being frozen out at Brighton, former boss Hughton is thrilled model pro Goldson has emerged as Rangers’...
CONNOR Goldson’s mission to make up for lost time has been attacked with ferocious intensity. In this third season with Rangers, the centre-back is the only player to have been on the pitch for all 2,250 minutes of the 25-game unbeaten run so far constructed by Steven Gerrard’s ebullient side.
The I brox manager s poke recently about the look of ‘disgust’ he receives from Goldson when there is even a suggestion of him being substituted. A raw hunger for action never seems to be sated.
Gerrard will undoubtedly make changes to his starting line-up for tomorrow evening’s Europa League trip to face Lech Poznan in Poland.
Finishing above Benfica in Group D would be a nice bonus but, with qualification already assured, there is a need to consider the bigger picture of how best to maintain near-flawless domestic progress.
Even so, you don’t need to have a spy inside Ibrox to imagine Goldson’s reaction to any talk that he might be rested. The concept doesn’t seem to register with a 27-year-old, whose perspective on football — and life — was surely altered by preventative heart surgery in 2017.
He was a Brighton player then, under the management of Chris Hughton. Three years on, Hughton expresses genuine happiness at seeing just how well Goldson is thriving in Glasgow.
Gerrard’s assessment of the defender’s inner drive is readily recognised. It was that very same quality that drove his exit from Brighton.
Hughton would gladly have kept him within his English Premier League squad but felt he could no longer stand in his way. Their parting in the summer of 2018 was on warm terms.
Some 17 months previously, a routine screening at Brighton had detected an enlarged aortic valve in Goldson’s heart. It had the potential to be fatal without treatment, yet distress quickly gave way to determination when the surgeon assured that a two-hour procedure would enable his return to playing.
Goldson duly made his first-team comeback in August 2017 — less than five months after surgery — but found his path to more regular action blocked by the form of colleagues who had peaked in his absence.
He made only eight appearances that term. When Gerrard came calling not longer after his appointment, Hughton knew there would be no dissuading Goldson from the chance of regular football on the Ibrox stage. ‘That same hunger was there with Connor,’ Hughton (left), now in charge of Nottingham Forest, told Sportsmail. ‘His attitude was excellent, it really was, but of course he was desperate to get back playing again. ‘And when Rangers came in, well, that was it. He was biting our hand off. He wasn’t thinking about anybody else then. That was always where he wanted to go. ‘At that point at Brighton, he was unfortunate that (Lewis) Dunk and (Shane) Duffy were in front of him and playing very consistently. ‘But Connor was always a very good trainer, a mature young man and captain-like material. ‘I didn’t want to lose him but I was really delighted for him when the deal came through in the end because I knew what it meant to him.
‘For me, it i s no surprise he is doing so well.
‘I am just delighted for him because he was brilliant with me.’
That appreciation goes beyond mere performance levels. Hughton views Goldson as a f antastic example of the benefits of health screening within sport.
Reflecting on the heart diagnosis, the 61- year- old said: ‘ My first impressions were actually that it was wonderful it had been picked up. Because this is something that arguably wouldn’t have been many years ago.
‘The information I got was that he would make a full recovery, but nothing is ever a given — particularly when you are talking about the issue he had.
‘ Connor is testament to the game as it is now. It’ s important, because I know if it hadn’t been picked up it could have had harsh repercussions.
‘Thankfully, for him, the club and everyone else, it was and he has gone on so strongly.
‘As soon as it had happened and was about the recovery, you knew he would come through. If anyone was going to work as hard as they can to get back to normal, if you like, that would be him. That’s Connor.
‘He didn’t miss a lot of training. I don’t think we had any doubts that he would be able to go onwards and forwards in football.’
His first two seasons at Rangers were not always easy. Individual criticism accompanied the collective woes endured by Gerrard’s side after both winter breaks.
Hughton, though, had no fears
about a toll being taken by the relentless scrutiny inherent at Ibrox. ‘As much as I think Connor has been good for Rangers, Rangers have been very good for him,’ said Hughton. ‘He thrives on that. ‘I don’t think he would have been fazed even if he had gone to a bigger club in England than Brighton. ‘ So to go to somewhere like Rangers, with the expectations and the crowds and the ri valries they have, I always thought he would enjoy that pressure and experience far more than dread it. ‘That’s because of his personality.
He came from Shrewsbury to Brighton, which was a step up in terms of size. But he came in and handled it as if he had always been there. He was mature beyond his years.
‘On the emotional and personal side of how people see him, I can very much imagine Rangers feel the same way as we did about him.’
The next step, of course, is to bring silverware back to Ibrox. A 13-point Premiership lead will only increase expectation but Hughton believes Goldson will not be found wanting in the crucial months ahead.
‘I don’t think it will faze him,’ he added. ‘When I see the games he’s played in and he’s scored a goal, I can see what it means to him.
‘He’s a passionate individual and it looks like he is loving life at Rangers. That comes over in his performances.
‘Listen, this is obviously a very big season for Rangers but my opinion is that none of what lies ahead will faze him.’