Alnwick more than aware of the threat Tavernier poses as set-play specialist
JAK ALNWICK spent countless training-ground hours helping James Tavernier hone his set-piece technique. The St Mirren goalkeeper can only hope all his graft and good intentions do not come back to bite him at Ibrox this afternoon.
Alnwick signed for Rangers in 2017 and was pleased to reunite with Tavernier, a former team-mate in the Newcastle youth system.
At that stage, Tavernier was a year short of obtaining the captaincy from Steven Gerrard but, to Alnwick’s surprise, was establishing a reputation as the club’s dead-ball expert.
‘I know Tav very well, he has been a good friend with the Newcastle and Rangers connection,’ said Alnwick. ‘He’s a good lad, a good captain, a good leader.
‘His record is brilliant. I’ve known him for years and never had him down as a penalty or a free-kick taker. He’s a technical player but I never had him down as a set-piece specialist.
‘He has worked hard at it. I worked quite a lot with him at Rangers and would go in for his penalties and free-kicks.
‘You come across friends that you’ve played with in football nearly every week. You study every player, whether they’re your friends or you don’t know them.
‘We did it against Livingston. I hadn’t played against Lyndon Dykes but we studied him and kept him quiet.’
A 1-0 home win over Livingston offered evidence that Jim Goodwin’s summer rebuild of the St Mirren defence has been a success but week two of the Premiership season will offer a stress test of the new-look back line.
Signed from Rangers over the summer, Alnwick won’t be spooked by the prospect of running out at Ibrox but he admits Steven Gerrard’s acquisition of new forwards Kemar Roofe and Cedric Itten does add an unknown dimension to the challenge.
In midweek, Celtic are the visitors and the firepower of a side that had Odsonne Edouard score an opening day hat-trick against Hamilton is no easier to suppress for its familiarity.
Goodwin’s well-considered summer business offers hope. Saints fans were fearful that the departure of favourite Vaclav Hladky would leave a void in goal but Alnwick, 27, looks a smart pick-up.
Joe Shaughnessy was an accomplished performer for St Johnstone before departing McDiarmid Park in 2019, while Marcus Fraser won a cup and then captained Ross County to promotion after his release from Celtic in 2015.
Richard Tait, meanwhile, was a valued contributor to Motherwell’s third-placed finish last term and marked his arrival in Paisley with the match-winner last weekend.
‘The gaffer’s looked at what he needed and he’s brought in experience across the back four,’ said Alnwick, who spent the bulk of the last couple of seasons on loan at Scunthorpe and Blackpool. ‘I’ve been a captain, Joe’s been a captain, so there are leaders in that defence.
‘Livvy like to get crosses into the box, they go route one in some ways, but I thought the way we defended our own box was outstanding.
‘We always knew Rangers would bring players in but we’ll prepare as normal.
‘They have a lot of options, they can play different systems but we’ll be prepared to defend. If we play how we know we can play, then it gives us a chance.’
Signed by Pedro Caixinha from Port Vale for £250,000, Alnwick was recruited as back-up to Wes Foderingham at Rangers but fell further down the pecking order a year later when Gerrard brought Allan McGregor in as No 1.
He made just 10 appearances for Rangers and suffered a thrashing on his only Old Firm outing at Celtic Park. It says much for the state of the club pre-Gerrard that the Hexham-born goalie earned positive reviews for his performance.
‘It’s hard to come off and say you are proud after being beaten 5-0,’ he shrugged. ‘It’s nice to hear people say I performed well and I look back on my own clips and I made a lot of saves in that game, but it was a poor day at the office for the football club.
‘I know what I can and can’t do. Changes of manager happen in football. You can always look at it and say you were unlucky, but it’s not going to get you anywhere.’