Davis eager to add to a title that means so much
THE conventional wisdom told Steven Davis not to go back. To leave his three league titles and happy memories of Rangers where they were.
He didn’t listen. And how glad he is of that. After playing a crucial role in the ‘momentous’ achievement of claiming this season’s championship, Davis hopes there is more still to come in the second instalment of his Ibrox story.
The 36-year-old signed a one-year contract extension last Saturday. The following afternoon, his composure aided Steven Gerrard’s side in claiming a 1-1 Old Firm draw that leaves them unbeaten after 33 Premiership games.
Davis insists Gerrard will demand the bar is raised again. Further success will be sought before the end of this season. And
This has to be a platform and we still have a lot to play for this season
again once the next campaign gets under way.
That chimes perfectly with the mentality of 36-year-old Davis, who admits seeing Rangers restored as a trophy-winning force was exactly what tempted him to return from Southampton in 2019.
‘One hundred per cent,’ he said. ‘I wasn’t getting much playing time at Southampton and I wanted to go to a club that would challenge me and give me that bit between my teeth.
‘There was a real draw to go back to Rangers because of the way I feel about the club.
‘Everyone always says “never go back” but it was too big a draw for me to return to Rangers, to be part of something again and to get the opportunity to try and win trophies.
‘This title is a momentous trophy in terms of the club’s history and everything it means, so it was a huge moment of personal pride for me as well.
‘It has to be a platform and we still have much to play for this season. The Scottish Cup will begin after the international break. Looking beyond that, once you win something, it gives you that appetite to have that feeling again and again.
‘The boys will have that desire and I’m sure, in the summer, the manager will try to make us even stronger and will push us even harder.
‘That’s something about the manager, he demands a lot from the boys and keeps pushing us to improve, which is obviously a good thing.’
Gerrard has been effusive about Davis during the campaign, claiming he would need the riches of a Manchester City or Chelsea to replace the influence of the midfielder and fellow veteran Allan McGregor. The respect is very much mutual.
‘He is excellent,’ said Davis of Gerrard. ‘It was a great appointment by the club and, even with everything he did as a player, it was a brave appointment. Everyone has been proved right.
‘He’s grown in the job and is continuing to learn, as you would stepping into a massive club and being a manager for the first time.
‘The staff the gaffer has brought in have been excellent as well and he has been a real driving force in us winning the league.’
Like Gerrard, Davis has made a sacrifice in terms of his family life to represent Rangers. Wife Tracey and their children still live in Southampton, so being able to go home as a title-winner was understandably emotional.
‘It was really, really nice,’ he told the Belfast Telegraph. ‘Being apart, they sometimes feel a little bit far away from it.
‘They were seeing all the socialmedia videos and I was on Facetime to them but there is still a wee bit of a disconnect, so it was lovely to get home.
‘Tracey had put some balloons up and had got our kids a bouncy castle and we had great fun together. It was so nice to spend time with them and enjoy those little moments because my family means the world to me.’
Having made history at club level this season, Davis is now set to do the same with his country.
It will be his 125th appearance for Northern Ireland when he lines up against Italy in a World Cup qualifier on Thursday evening, drawing him level with Peter Shilton as the most-capped UK footballer of all-time.
Barring injury, Davis should then break the record in one of his country’s subsequent fixtures before he returns to Rangers.
‘It is beyond anything you would ever imagine setting out playing the game,’ he admitted.
‘You dream of playing for your country and, for me, to get the opportunity to do that means so much every time.
‘To be in a position to be so close to breaking the British record is quite staggering. It’s actually difficult to take in at times.
‘There’s been a lot of hard work that has gone into it and a lot of sacrifices and, if I manage to do it, I’ll be extremely proud.
‘I’d bite your hand off to play in another major tournament..
‘I represent my country the best I can and, ultimately, the aim is to achieve qualification for a major tournament like we did with Euro 2016.’