James Tavernier has discussed his Rangers penalty-taking duties, in press conference footage released by the Official Rangers Twitter.
There was a sizeable social media backlash from fans at the weekend after he missed his third penalty out of five this season against Motherwell.
After sending opposition stopper Mark Gillespie the wrong way, his spot-kick stuck the post before bouncing away to safety.
This failure compounded other misses against Progres Niederkorn and Feyenoord, with his only successes so far coming at home to Aberdeen last month.
Yet, he says he still wants the responsibility and won’t shy away from taking another.
“Yeah, definitely, I still believe in my ability,” said Tavernier when asked if he believes he’s still the best man for the job. “I think I missed maybe two before the Aberdeen game and obviously I came up with two in that game. So, yeah I believe in myself and I believe in my qualities and I’m always confident to step up.”
When asked by another journalist if his comments were confirmation he would remain on spot-kick duties, Tav responded coyly: “We’ve got to see if another one comes in the next game.”
Verdict
No matter whether you are in the camp keen to slate Tav or on the side prepared to back him, you have to admire his resilience.
He’s faced a heap of criticism in recent weeks, yet he looked relaxed throughout the interview and still clearly wants to take on the extra responsibility.
Should the Gers get one at Hampden on Sunday, it will be interesting to see who steps up.
Will the skipper call the shots and continue or has Gerrard decided enough is enough and handed the reins to someone else?
