Philippe Clement is paid the big bucks to make the difficult decisions at Rangers.
The Belgian has already made a few during his time at Ibrox including allowing five top stars to leave on free contracts last summer.
Right now the Scottish Premiership table does not make particularly good reading for Gers supporters but the belief remains within the boss that he can turn things around.
That means the gaffer will have more major calls to make this season if the club are to push on – and up – the division.
One recent decision Clement made was to leave out captain James Tavernier who has had a poor start to the season by his own standards.
Just one goal in 20 appearances so far from the usually reliable skipper is a miserable return while his assist statistics also make grim reading with just four to his name in all competitions.
Tav was left out from the start recently against Olympiacos for Dujon Sterling at right-back while he also did not start at home to St Mirren for Neraysho Kasanwirjo.
The Englishman will likely be disappointed with how his campaign has gone so far and, at 33-years-old, his time in Glasgow – after nine years – could well be beginning to wind down.
Barry Ferguson yesterday named two possible Rangers captain candidates in his stead, but one man who is convinced his former teammate can still do the business is Graham Dorrans.
Tavernier’s leadership skills at Rangers could still work in his favour
Former Gers midfielder Dorrans played for the club again at the Scottish Masters last night and still keeps a close eye on his old pals.
And he feels that Tavernier’s desire to win and his quiet leadership of the group is the one main thing working in his favour as he seeks an Ibrox resurgence.
Dorrans said of Tav: “100 per cent, he is a leader. He is not someone who screams and shouts but he’s a winner.
“Knowing him personally, I know he’ll be disappointed with the way things are going at the minute but he is not one for shying away from things.
Graham Dorrans feels Tavernier still has plenty to give at Ibrox
“He will puff his chest out and keep going.”
Asked if boss Clement has been right to drop the player, Dorrans added: “That’s a question for the manager.
“He makes the decisions and if he sees fit to make the changes that he wants, that’s what he does. But knowing James he will keep his head down and he’ll work 100 per cent the way he always does.”
We told you recently how Clement explained his decision to substitute his captain in a clash against Lyon.
The manager explained how it was about keeping the player rested with more big games coming up.
What Philippe Clement has said about James Tavernier
He told the BBC: “It’s giving extra energy from other players, the other changes also. We have every three days a game, so we have to divide powers between all the players.
“You see Cerny today, who we missed really hard in Aberdeen. If you have a lot of new players, they need to show they are ready to play for Rangers and can play at the standards of Rangers.
“It’s a normal process we are going through, but of course I want it to go as fast as possible.”
