Don’tgimme a break: Goldson’s happy to just keep on playing
Connor Goldson has already proved a point about his ability to play top-level football.
Now he wants Rangers to do the same thing against Aberdeen in today’s Betfred Cup semi-final.
The 25-year-old defender has played more games than any other player for Steven Gerrard’s side this season.
That’s hugely impressive for a man who made a comeback after heart surgery last December.
Gerrard has talked about having to manage his players through a tough schedule that includes Europa League ties on a Thursday night.
Goldson, however, has been in the Rangers’ defence in 21 of 22 matches.
He started the season playing alongside Nikola Katic, but on-loan Nottingham Forest centre-back Joe Worrall has been a more regular defensive partner in recent weeks.
While others come in and out of the side, Goldson is making up for lost time and won’t be asking for a break.
The former Brighton man said: “This is brilliant for me.
“I had two difficult years with an operation in the middle of it. So it was hard.
“But now with games coming all the time I feel better and better every time I play.
“I’m feeling more confident that I can recover quicker between the games.
“Of course, it’s tough. You have to respect the top players who play every Saturday and Wednesday with so many games in the season.
“You have to do everything properly but I’m enjoying it.
“I’m loving the fact I’m playing football all the time now.
“It’s a compliment from the manager that he’s stuck with me and alternated the other centre-backs.
“When I came I just wanted to play as many games as I can – I want to play every game because I’ve missed so much in the last two years.
“It’s time to really concentrate on my career.”
Fellow Englishman Worrall has impressed Goldson and he won’t be taking his own place for granted.
He went on: “My first game with Joe was in Spain against Villarreal and we’ve struck up a good partnership.
“Joe’s a great player and he’s still a young boy. People don’t appreciate that he’s only 21 – because he looks about 30!
“If you remember that and look at the teams we’re playing at European level, he’s done well in all of them.
“We’ve got a great squad. Look at the players behind us right now, fighting for places.
“Niko was unbelievable in the first few months and Gareth Mcauley has been playing Premier League for 10 years. “That shows the strength of squad we have here now. “We know that we need to play well if we want to keep the shirt.” Goldson, who helped Rangers keep a clean sheet against Spartak Moscow on Thursday, says he never doubted that he’d be back to his best after surgery. He added: “Even when I had a tough spell at Brighton and the health scare, I always envisaged getting back to playing at this level, 100%.
“Maybe I only doubted it when I first knew the operation was going to happen. “But when I met the specialist and he told me I could be back playing in six weeks I’ve been focused on getting back.
“I was playing at a high level before with Brighton at the top of the Championship.
“Then last year I played a few games in the Premier League.
“So I always felt I’d get back to nights like Thursday but it was a long road back.”
Goldson now hopes the Light Blues can get the better of Aberdeen at Hampden this afternoon.
He said: “We’ve got a point to prove against Aberdeen. The game at Pittodrie was our first of the season and we played with 10 men.
“We probably deserved to win the game but we know they’re a good side – one of the better ones in the division.
“We’ll show them respect, but we’ll go there trying to win the game.”