Following on from our assessment of Glen Kamara, it’s time to look at another January signing, Steven Davis.
The Northern Ireland skipper signed on an initial six-month loan deal from Southampton and had Bears extremely optimistic about the club’s chances of winning the league.
However, he’d been starved of game time with the Saints and that showed in his early performances.
He was well off the pace initially and struggled to make an impact for a number of months.
Davis’ display in the 0-0 draw at home to St Johnstone in February was particularly concerning,
However, in April, it became clear that the 34-year-old is far from past it. He just needed a run of games to get himself up to speed.
Post-split revival
180 minutes across two Euro 2020 Qualifiers for Northern Ireland gave him a kickstart, before he laid down a marker at club level.
He was instrumental to the strong run of results the Gers put together towards the end of the campaign.
Running the show in central midfield alongside Ryan Jack and Kamara, the Ibrox faithful finally saw the player they were so excited about bringing back to Ibrox several months previous.
Against Hibernian, in particular, he was a class apart. Linking defence and attack seamlessly, he dictated the game as he’s done for his country for a decade.
Unfortunately, he missed the final game of the season away at Killie with a niggle. Such was his influence by that stage, it was no surprise that in his absence the Gers put in a lacklustre display.
Overall, then, a mixed start to Davis’ second stint at Ibrox.
Initially, he was extremely disappointing. However, to an extent that was due to circumstances beyond his control.
Towards the end of the season, though, his class shone through. Therefore, his subsequent one-year contract was well deserved.
Heading into next season, he will be one of the first names on the teamsheet as Gerrard goes in search of no.55.
