Cyriel Dessers admits his on-field ‘connections’ with two Rangers stars in particular have factored into his upturn in form.
The Nigerian striker was a hefty £4.5m summer signing from Serie A side Cremonese and was the second-most expensive of former manager Michael Beale’s recruits.
Beale wasn’t able to get the best out of Dessers but new boss Philippe Clement has shown he has the know-how to get Dessers performing at the levels he should be playing at.
As per Transfermarkt, the 29-year-old scored just once in seven Scottish Premiership games under Beale and looked well short of the millions shelled out for him.
But Dessers’ confidence and strike rate has improved drastically. He has recorded 11 goal contributions in his last 13 league games and that has helped Rangers displace Celtic at the top of the table.
Dessers, as quoted in the Daily Record, is fully aware of his recent stats and understands he is scoring a goal every 100 minutes under Philippe Clement.
And for him, that just says it all about the impact the Belgian has made on his game and the players supplying Dessers with his goals.
According to the former Feyenoord striker himself, they are captain James Tavernier and rejuvenated left-back Ridvan Yilmaz in particular.
Dessers says his ‘connection’ with both players now is stronger than it ever was before and the hard work on the training ground under Clement is testament to that.
Cyriel Dessers on Tavernier and Ridvan ‘connections’
Cyriel Dessers said: “I have seen the statistics. I think I’ve scored one goal every 100 minutes with the new gaffer. That says a lot. But even then it could have been more. I have had other opportunities and I have hit the woodwork six times.
“I think there’s more to come and obviously the gaffer played a role in this. He gave me confidence, as well as to the team. We are playing better so as a striker you can use that. It’s all been quite natural, we didn’t do crazy things.
“We worked hard, we worked hard on the connections with the other players like James Tavernier and now Ridvan Yilmaz on the other side. These are things you need to work on. There’s a big contrast between now and the start of the season. I feel as though I am in a good place.
“That’s what I always said. Once I found my spot, settled in and I always felt I would be able to show my qualities for this team. I’ve said this before, I haven’t reached my top form yet. There’s more to come from me individually and from the team also.”
