Ex-Celtic defender Peter Grant has sung the praises of Cyriel Dessers, as well as Barry Ferguson for persisting with the Rangers striker.
Dessers was the hero and the villain against Dundee. The Nigerian’s stoppage time winner sent Rangers fans at Dens Park into raptures – but he squandered a whole host of opportunities.
Dessers had 12 attempts on goal but only managed to score one, albeit the most important strike in the 93rd minute of a pulsating game.
As a result of his wastefulness, Andy Halliday thinks Dessers deserves criticism. However, Grant was more inclined to credit the striker for never giving up amid all his missed chances.
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Peter Grant credits Cyriel Dessers for Rangers ‘gumption’
Grant also praised his former Go Radio colleague Barry Ferguson for sticking by Dessers and not substituting him off, which proved to be the perfect call in the end.
The former Celtic man told The Go Radio Football Show on Monday night: “I think Barry and his staff deserve credit for that because it’s easy to take a striker off when he’s missed a few chances.
“And I keep saying that, strikers need to stay on the pitch because remember, they are your best finisher. He’s the best finisher at the club at this moment in time.
“We’ve not seen enough of Danilo. You would say, out of them all, he’s (Dessers) your best finisher and gets the most chances.
“If you’re going to try and get back into a game or win a game, as they end up doing, you’ve got to keep them on the pitch. And it’s easy to listen to the crowd and see the chances he misses.
“But he keeps getting in there and he got his goal. And his record, listen, 45 goals in 100 games, phenomenal. I know some say he should have a lot more, but that’s the life of a striker.
“Great credit to him, he shows a wee bit of gumption by going back in there after missing opportunities – and great credit to him.”
Barry Ferguson likes ‘something’ in Cyriel Dessers
Mark Guidi was alongside Grant in the studio and pointed to the fact that Ferguson has always been a fan of Dessers at Rangers, despite the forward’s many critics.
Despite what anyone says, nobody can take away the fact that Dessers has netted 23 goals in all competitions for Rangers this season, far more than his nearest rival Vaclav Cerny.
Guidi said: “We know from being in this studio with Barry over a period of time is that, as much as Cyriel Dessers has had his critics, Barry always defended him, there was something about him which he liked.
“And I think if it was probably any other player, he would have taken Dessers off. But he’s kept him on and he shows that composure in stoppage time to put the ball away.”
