Tav happy to leave goals to his kid brother
It’s been a criticism of James Tavernier’s time at Rangers that he prefers to attack from full-back rather than defend.
Well, the good news for his detractors is that the 26-year-old may now think twice about making his rampaging forward runs – especially if they’re going to end with him scoring!
His younger brother, Marcus, is now making his mark at Middlesbrough and has hit the net twice this season.
Tavernier Senior’s brace against Aberdeen in midweek doubled his tally for the season, but he’d happily be eclipsed by his sibling.
“I want him to score more than me,” said the Rangers right-back.
“He got chucked into the deep end, at 18, for his debut this season. But they’ve had three wins on the bounce, and he got the winning goal against Sunderland in the derby.
“I was just over the moon for him.
“He’s been called up to the England squads, too, so I just want him to keep pushing on.
“I went down to watch him play against Leeds United recently, but that was a bit of a hard one for me.
“I’m a Leeds fan and was sitting in the Leeds end. But I was almost supporting Boro because of him!
“I just told him I didn’t think I could stand in the Mi d d l e s b r o u g h end, getting shouted at by Leeds fans.
“But I’m really proud of him because he got his head down and has been working really hard.
“For me, he’s only going to go on to bigger and better things.”
Tavernier hopes the same can be said of Rangers after their midweek transformation against Aberdeen.
And he insists he considers himself more of a defensive player than an offensive one.
“It was great for me scoring twice because it relieved some of the pressure on the boys,” he said.
“But I’m happier with the clean sheet. We have let in so many silly goals in the past few games that the clean sheet after the work we put in defensively was crucial.
“So if you’re asking me about goals and assists, or clean sheets, then I’m happier we didn’t concede any goals.
“In my first season here, we dominated a lot of games, and I scored 15 times.
“Then the level of opposition improved coming into the Premiership, and last season things weren’t working as well.
“But myself and Daniel Candeias have been working well together and opportunities are coming.
“As players, we set high standards in training and high standards in games also – but we need to deliver it in matches.
“The performance on Wednesday is one the fans of the club deserve in every game.
“We can’t just put in a display like that, and then take our foot off the gas.
“That’s the level we have to hit every week.”