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Gary McAllister picks his man of the season
Gary McAllister believes Rangers’ Captain Fantastic is the Player of the Season.
James Tavernier has missed the last six weeks. But the full-back’s inspirational displays drove his club to within touching distance of the title before he was injured in a Europa League tie against Royal Antwerp.
There were times when the 29-yearold was identified by critics – and even some supporters – as a weak link in the Ibrox team.
But Tavernier forced them to eat their words by producing some of the best defensive displays of his career.
He has also hit 17 goals, and is equal top of the Premiership assists table with 11.
Those are hugely-impressive statistics for a full-back, and that’s why McAllister maintains he deserves the top award.
The Rangers assistant boss isn’t short of candidates among the players he works with every day.
He said: “The two lads that have just signed new contracts, Allan McGregor and Steven Davis, have been outstanding.
“There’s also been Tav, Connor Goldson and Ryan Kent.
“Alfredo Morelos has probably not had the season he’s had in the past, but in the last six-to-eight weeks of the league games, he really came to the fore.
“If you were pushing me – and I am not going to sit on the fence here – I’d probably go for James Tavernier. He’s played a real captain’s part.”
The Englishman is back in training following his knee injury, and will hope to end this season by lifting another trophy.
Rangers will need to make sure they take care of business against Cove Rangers in the Scottish Cup this evening to progress to the last 16.
McAllister still places a high importance on winning domestic cup competitions.
There’s no chance of the Rangers players being allowed to believe that securing the Championship means the hard work is over.
They can win the Scottish Cup and have an unbeaten league campaign.
He went on: “That’s our job – the manager and all his staff – to emphasise it’s just the start.
“We’ve won the league, so why not push on now and try to add to that.
“That’s something we’re going to really concentrate on in the coming weeks and emphasise to the players – get that train of thought pushed firmly into the front of their minds.
“I come from a generation that as a young player at Motherwell, you always wanted to try to get to a Scottish Cup Final or semi-final.
“I’ve got many memories from watching cup finals from south of the border and up here, so we see this as very important.
“We started the season in four competitions – three domestic and the Europa League.
“We have managed to win one, had a great run in Europe and we want to do well in the Scottish Cup.
“Our preparation and all our due diligence will be done to go deep into this competition. We want to try to get to Hampden.
“There’s still five league games left as well, and records to go for there.
“That’s another target, so there’s still loads to play for in the last couple of months.”
There’s no doubt Rangers will today face a Cove Rangers side that will do their best to frustrate the champions.
The formula for cup giant-killing normally consists of an unexpected goal, followed by plenty of desperate defending.
That happened when Rangers were knocked out of the cup by Hamilton Accies during Graeme Souness’ first season as manager in 1987.
The Ibrox men occasionally toiled to break down packed defences during Steven Gerrard’s first two years as manager.
This term they have been a lot more efficient when it comes to dealing with teams that park the bus.
McAllister says it’s something they’ve worked hard on during countless training sessions.
He added: “I’d say it’s our variation that has made the difference.
“It has been well-documented that we often come up against, in modern words, a ‘low block’ – a team that has bodies behind the ball.
“We’ve shown different ways of trying to beat a low block.
“Lots of work on the training ground in trying to find solutions has paid off.
“The guys in the forward area of the pitch – like Alfredo Morelos, Ryan Kent and Kemar Roofe – each and every one of them has played a part in providing little moments in games which has enabled us to break teams down and get goals.”