Desire and dedication
AGE-DEFYING DAVIS DRIVING RANGERS TO TITLE AND McAULEY TIPS LEADER TO STAR FOR MANY YEARS TO COME
FOR Rangers, the title race is now about maintaining standards. It surely helps to have someone whose 17-year career has been built upon that very principle.
Steven Davis turned 36 last Friday. The following day, he was arguably the most important player on t he I brox pitch after Celtic had been reduced to ten men.
The midfielder calmly capitalised on the extra space to give Steven Gerrard’s side some assurance. It’s what he tends to do. A 1-0 Old Firm victory lifted Rangers 19 points clear of their rivals and placed a first title firmly in their sights since 2011.
Davis was around back then, too. Like Allan McGregor, his experience of what it takes to get over the line will be vital in reinforcing the dressing-room message that nothing is won yet. Sunday’s trip to Pittodrie is not a time for even the faintest hint of complacency.
When Davis returned to Rangers in January 2019 — initially on loan from Southampton — it was viewed by some as a short-term solution. Yet here he is two years on, still one of the first names on Gerrard’s team sheet for all the fixtures of greatest significance.
His contract expires at the end of this season. Inevitably, the question will again be asked about how much longer he can exert such a vital influence on a team still unbeaten in both the Premiership and Europa League this term.
As always, the Ballymena-born player tends to answer through his performances.
Gareth McAuley spent five months beside Davis at Rangers in 2019, but has known him since both earned their first Northern Ireland caps in 2005. Davis has since gone on to break Pat Jennings’ record and is now just one short of equalling Peter Shilton’s UK landmark of 125 international appearances.
That stint at Ibroxw as McAuley’s last before he retired aged 39. He can speak with authority about the demands of longevity. It’s about what’s in your heart and mind, as well as your legs.
As such, McAuley doesn’t expect Davis to head into the sunset at the end of this season. Not if he can continue to experience the unique thrill of representing Rangers.
‘When you have played the level Davo has played at, it is about the desire to do it,’ McAuley told Sportsmail.
‘He has got the legs and has always shown that desire every day to keep to his standard over an extraordinary period of time. He’s just incredibly consistent. That’s what sets him apart.
‘What Davo decides to do next will be a choice for him but I have seen him say he wants to continue playing for Northern Ireland.
‘To me, that signals he will also want to continue to play at Rangers. Because he can’t go anywhere else to get the same buzz. He is not going to go back to the (English) Premier League. Steven Davis will finish his career at Rangers. And it will be probably his choice when he wants to do it. That’s all I can say.’
Davis has name- checked McAuley and David Weir as examples he looks to for guidance about what it takes to continue into your late 30s.
‘He knows himself he has to do more to keep up after turning 36 at the turn of the year,’ said McAuley.
‘ We’ve had a few conversations about it. The biggest thing is desire. Davo has still got it.
‘For years, he was saying to me : “Keep playing, keep playing”. I always felt like I could, until I was starting to pick up injuries and it changed. But that’s what I’m saying to him now: “You are only 36. You kept me going until I was 39, so you’ve a couple of years yet”.
‘I had a gap when I left West Brom and before I signed for Rangers. It was tough because I missed pre-season.
‘I think D avow as a little worried about the shutdown last March. Getting going again is all the more difficult. But he has come back on the other side looking superb.’
There is a reason only a few players can keep producing highlevel displays at an age when many of their contemporaries have retired. Besides talent and luck with injuries, the dedication required is absolute.
‘You have to be open to talking to the experts to learn more about your physiology,’ added McAuley. ‘The same goes for the psychological side of it.
‘The biggest thing is being able to bear the sacrifice you have to make. I think Davo has been living away from ( his wife) Tracey and the kids. I did that for a year and it was difficult. You have to put yourself above your family in a way, which sounds crazy.’
Over the title run-in, Davis will be expected to fulfil an almost paternal role for some of his younger colleagues.
‘He leads by example every day,’ continued McAuley, now taking his first steps towards a coaching career. ‘He has been there and done it. Plus, he has McGregor beside him as a more vocal guy.
‘They will know if there is a feeling within the dressing room that i sn’t right. And they can control it and put things right.
‘ Davo’s temperament is another of his biggest attributes. He takes the ball under pressure. He never lets the occasion get to him. It’s the same off the pitch. He won’t shout and scream at people. He will go and talk to them during the week. Players nowadays l i ke to be spoken to in a different sort of way.’
Getting both hands on the Premiership trophy would, McAuley feels, provide a neat bit of closure for Davis after he was among many players who left in the wake of financial meltdown in 2012.
‘It would be massive for him,’ said McAuley. ‘I know people weren’t happy when he left in the first place. But there are stories out there that Davo wouldn’t sign for Southampton until Rangers received money for him.
‘It would be an incredible thing for him to experience — as i t would be f or all the supporters — after such a tough time without a league title.’