James Tavernier’s desire to defend has been hammered by former Rangers midfielder Derek Ferguson.
As Rangers captain, Tavernier has come under a lot of criticism this year not only for the team’s poor start to the season but for his own individual displays.
Fans were calling the manager Philippe Clement to drop the Englishman over the last few weeks as they deemed his contributions unacceptable.
Tavernier has started every game this season for Rangers bar two occasions against St Mirren and Olympiacos, both of those coming within the last two weeks.
It’s a sign that Clement is now understanding that even his captain isn’t safe from being dropped, especially when Neraysho Kasanwirjo and Dujon Sterling have looked impressive in recent games.
Derek Ferguson rants about Tavernier’s Rangers desire
Ferguson is just another Rangers fan who isn’t best pleased with Tavernier at the moment and picked out one reason why he’s unhappy with the right-back.
Visibly frustrated when speaking about Tavernier on the Open Goal podcast, Ferguson said: “Do you want to know what I’ve noticed about him?
“See on his recoveries when Rangers lose the ball high up the park, his desire and willingness to get back into position and behind the ball is non-existent.
“It’s even worse, it’s a jog back. Sometimes it’s even a walk and a jog back. It’s not hard to run back 60 yards and get into position. That’s a given and that’s why he should have been dropped.”
Why has Tavernier’s form dropped off?
Ferguson thinks there are a mix of factors as to why Tavernier’s season so far hasn’t been up to the standards he’s reached in the past.
He continued: “It could be a bit of everything. He’s maybe lost a bit in terms of his legs, has his head been swayed a bit when there were offers (in the summer) from somewhere else and it didn’t materialise?
“He’s never been a good defender, but what he made up for was his stats in terms of setting up goals for people and his goals – he’s not delivering that anymore.
“If you go and watch all the games (this season), his general play has been pretty poor. And that’s why it was dead surprising last week when he came out and said in front of the media that he thinks he’s playing well, which he’s not.”
