CANTWELL: I don’t plan on changing for anyone
Ibrox star ignores ‘irrelevant’ noise as he backs himself to find best form
TODD CANTWELL knows only too well that recognition can be both a blessing and a curse. Flying under the radar simply isn’t an option for the Rangers playmaker who attracts attention as regularly as he is on the receiving end of robust challenges as one of the Scottish Premiership’s most fouled players.
Cantwell has no qualms with the physicality of opponents, always backing himself to utilise his technical ability to the benefit of his team.
Being labelled a diver by his critics is more of a frustration for the 26-year-old, earning him a reputation he insists is undeserved.
Although Cantwell doesn’t name Chris Sutton, it’s no secret that the ex-Celt and now Sky Sports pundit has been the most voluble among those accusing him of simulation.
Cantwell accepts he can’t change how others view him but he certainly has no intention of compromising his own approach to life on or off the pitch.
‘It would be easy for me to be a lot more introverted as a person,’ he said. ‘But I don’t want to ever live a lie. I don’t want to be false.
‘The person I am off the pitch is the same person I feel I am on it. People are always going to have opinions and they will always differ.
‘A lot of people will make their own minds up, that’s life and football. But I don’t plan on changing for anyone.
‘The people who are important to me know me and are happy with me. I don’t need verification from people who are irrelevant to me.
‘I try to keep myself to myself away from football. Everyone has an on-field perception and an off-field perception.
‘My on-field perception is probably very wrong compared to the person that I am. But you’re in a city where football is absolutely adored by both sides and you’re going to be recognised by people.
‘I think people can make up their own minds about my onfield perception. I do think it’s probably unfair and there are certain people out there who like to jump on it and play up to it.
‘It’s a bit strange because there’s so much more going on — but that seems to be highlighted a lot.
‘I am the type of player who invites conversation, I know that, and probably controversy as well. I would like to be spoken about more on how I play football than anything else. I understand that up here you’ve got people who need to stay relevant and stay in the limelight. So it’s just part of how it is and you have to move on with it.’
While Cantwell is able to brush off the negative scrutiny which comes his way, he admits it can have more of an impact on his family.
‘They probably end up biting their tongue a lot more than I do,’ he added. ‘I’ve been in the football industry for a long time now and a lot of things probably go over my head.
‘People maybe think they don’t, but they do. But for my family, they are probably sitting there chewing over it.
‘My family understand me as a person and a player. They know exactly what type of lad I am. Stuff like that doesn’t bother me.’
What does concern Cantwell is the pursuit of more silverware with Rangers as they try to add the Premiership title and Scottish Cup to the League Cup which already sits in the Ibrox trophy room this season.
Knee and hamstring injuries have disrupted his campaign but Cantwell showed signs of returning to form in last Sunday’s Scottish Cup semi-final win over Hearts at Hampden.
‘I’d like that to be a baseline,’ he said ahead of Rangers’ trip to St Mirren today. ‘I don’t think it was anywhere near my best performance or any performance I can provide. Which is nice for me because it got well received.
‘Me moving forward at my fittest and best, playing where and how I want to play, there is a lot more to come. So if that can be my baseline until the end of the season, it can stand us in a good place.
‘A couple of injuries have given me a little bit of a bitter taste about how the season might have been for me personally. But the season is where it is and with what’s up for grabs now, if you’d said to me at the start: “Would you take that?”, I’d probably have said yes.’