FANTASTIC
Glory after rollercoaster time as Rangers skipper
Warburton at QPR] was someone who deserved it. When you speak to Tav he’ll tell you what he thinks of Lee Wallace. How highly he respects him. Tav recognises the responsibility of that role, what it means and what it encompasses. How he has to act, deliver, add value to the squad.
“Tav gets it, he fully understands it and I have so much respect for him as a person. He’s delivered for Rangers Football Club, it’s what he’s done and continues doing on a regular basis. It starts with his defensive responsibilities , his communication skills, all of it. He deserves enormous credit and I’m delighted to see it. I look forward to the day he lifts the trophy.”
RECRUITMENT was always going to be vital for Rangers this season and Gerrard undoubtedly got it right alongside sporting director Ross Wilson. Warburton has been impressed by the calibre of player the staff have brought to the club.
‘Investment’ is a word, when discussing his time at Ibrox, that Warburton never fails to mention. It remains a sore point that he was not afforded the same backing his successors have been handed. Pedro Caixinha was given big bucks and Gerrard has also been financially supported. That said, the former Brentford boss is not bitter about the situation. Not at all. He’s simply happy to see Rangers splash the cash they needed to spend.
“The type of players Steven and Gary [McAllister] have secured have been very important,” he said. “For example we tried to sign Connor Goldson at Nottingham Forest and couldn’t afford him. We tried to sign Leon Balogun in the summer before he came to Glasgow. And he won’t mind me saying this but when he told me Rangers were interested, I said to him, ‘You’ve got to go’. You look at the experience they have in Davis, Jack, Defoe, Morelos, Kent, they’ve invested and brought in a nice mix of youth and energy and experience which is what you need. To have the backing and investment is what it all comes down to.
“You can want to implement ideas but you have to close the gap on a rival who has had more financial support for the last 10 years. Thankfully Rangers have now
got that and they’ve responded. I’ve been frustrated previously when I heard. ‘Warburton doesn’t get the winning mentality’. Of course I do. But I refer back to investment and the fans have been so patient, they’ve had to wait and suffer Celtic winning year after year. Now is their time, I’m so, so pleased. I know what it means to them and when Tav lives that trophy, trust me I’ll have a nice glass of wine to say many congratulations to everyone at the club.”
Warburton is loathe to talk too much about Celtic during our halfhour conversation as he’s driving
from London to Preston for a midweek English Championship fixture. But he acknowledges it’s difficult to talk up Rangers’ achievements without, too, discussing the Parkhead side’s 10-In-A-Row downfall.
“The only thing I was surprised at was that Celtic knew Rangers would come. It was clear Rangers would invest but there was a lack of response from Celtic, which surprised me. I say it in a respectful way as I’m very conscious they’ve won a lot of titles. But that’s it, the investment never really materialised and it gave Rangers an opening and they blew right through it.
“I’m so pleased they did, they saw the opportunity and they took it and that’s the key thing for me. Now, every Rangers fan wants to see a decade of dominance, they’ve had to live through the last eight or nine years. But at the same time you want healthy competition in any league. People love that Atletico Madrid are pushing Real Madrid and Barcelona. They love Red Bull pushing Bayern Munich. Everyone benefits from that, the fans do.
“I think we’ll see Celtic respond, it will be interesting to see what happens next season. Celtic will respond but Rangers recognise that and they’ll be ready. What you don’t want is to see investment and then the club turn the taps off. You want to see it continued and you want them to build and develop players. They’ll go to that model which I’m sure they’ll recognise, Ross Wilson is a top guy. I really think Rangers are ready now to dominate Scottish football but I have no doubt their nearest rivals will definitely respond.”
Warburton has to go. He’s got to pay a toll booth heading into Preston as he signs off on our conversation. But not before applauding Rangers’ loyal supporters. “The fans are fantastic, I don’t have enough adjectives to use,” he concluded. “I’ll never forget when we beat Celtic in the semi-final and I made the comment that it was for the fans. It absolutely was because of what they’d been through. When Rangers went down the divisions they followed them, it was full houses and they backed their team.”
It was clear Rangers would invest but there was a lack of response from Celtic, which surprised me. It gave Rangers an opening and they blew right through it
THE team prizes are always more important than the individual plaudits. There can be no debating that Steven Gerrard’s side are worthy title winners, but the Player of the Year award will require more deliberating before the worthy recipient can be crowned.
It is captain James Tavernier who is the leading contender and the most likely winner but the strength of Rangers this season has been their collective, the way in which Gerrard’s side have performed and improved as a unit. Rangers have been technically and tactically the most impressive outfit in the Premiership and their mentality has set them apart as they have proven that they have the mark of champions.
The core of the squad Gerrard has relied on hasn’t let him down and there are few real disappointments amongst those he has regularly turned to. Here, Herald and Times Sport look at the five who have been the standout performers this term.
JAMES TAVERNIER
So much of the focus on Tavernier surrounds his numbers in terms of goals and assists but his influence has been more significant than that as he has grown into the role of Rangers captain and now guided them to title glory.
The right-back would score 17 times by the middle of December, but even when the goals dried up he was still a driving force for Rangers. He is a full-back in a modern sense, but his defensive capabilities have been sharpened whilst he raised the bar in attack.
The injury he suffered against
Royal Antwerp was a cruel blow but there are few within the Ibrox squad that deserve to savour this success more. Tavernier has certainly played his part in it this term.
ALLAN MCGREGOR
As Rangers racked up the clean sheets and rewrote the history books at the start of the season, there were questions raised over McGregor’s position in the side following Jon McLaughlin’s accomplished start to life at Ibrox.
The rest, as they say, is history.
At 39, McGregor is as good as ever and Gerrard must convince the keeper to extend his contract beyond the end of the season. There will be a temptation to go out on a high, but McGregor is still too important to Rangers, both on and off the park.
His showings against Willem II, Celtic and Hamilton stand out, but he has been consistently superb and the levels of his performances speak volumes for his professionalism. Rangers would not be the same side without him.
A dominant figure at the heart of the defence and in the dressing room, Goldson’s third season at Ibrox has been by far and away his most impressive and complete.
The Englishman has the upmost trust of Gerrard and his team-mates and he has rarely put a foot wrong throughout an excellent Premiership campaign and memorable Europa League run.
Goldson has chipped in with big goals against the likes of Celtic, Standard Liege and Dundee United but it is his commanding presence at the other end of the park that has been so important to Rangers. He wasn’t always a fan favourite, but he simply has to be appreciated now by supporters.
ALFREDO MORELOS
If Lille had put enough money on the table last summer, Morelos wouldn’t have been at Ibrox to finally savour Premiership success. The Ligue 1 side may have missed out, but
Morelos and Gerrard have certainly benefitted.
This hasn’t been a classic campaign in terms of goals for Morelos and he would go nearly four months between league strikes. During that time, he would break Ally McCoist’s European scoring record for Rangers. There have been developments in his game, though, and he is a more wellrounded and complete forward today than he was last term. Morelos will head for the Ibrox exit, but he can now do so with a medal around his neck.
STEVEN DAVIS
The Northern Irishman has never sought praise or plaudits but the season which saw him become the record appearance holder for his country has ended with another league title.
Davis has set the standard for those around him to follow and he has been a classy operator in the middle of the park throughout a campaign that has taken him into his 36th year.
He is the ultimate professional and hugely respected but his place in the team is not given on sentiment and Gerrard doesn’t possess another midfielder that operates the way in which Davis does. Like McGregor, his services must be retained for next season.