Rangers captain James Tavernier has warned his teammates “to say focused on the job at hand” as he urged them to stay out of the limelight and away from social media.
The Gers full-back was speaking after the likes of Sheyi Ojo [Scottish Sun] and Borna Barisic were quoted as talking up Rangers or talking down their rivals in the press.
Whilst there’s little doubt the stories were sensationalised, it detracts from the club’s focus and gives our opposition ammunition. Tav has urged players to focus purely on the football.
“It can vary. You can tell them to stay off social media. A lot of things can be said on there and you don’t want to put your head in a different place,” said Tav, as quoted by the Herald.
“You want to stay focused on the job in hand. It will be a team effort. We want to achieve the same things and we can’t get caught up in anything else.
“During the 90 minutes fans might want us to attack all the time, which we like to do, but sometimes we need to shut up shop and keep possession.
“That’s where talking to the lads and keeping to the system will come in handy. You try and stay out of the limelight as much as you can.”
It’s refreshing to hear from the Gers captain with some fans feeling a sense of frustration at the comments of Ojo and Barisic.
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The duo will learn very quickly that everything they say, particularly about trophies or rivals, will be overly scrutinised and very often framed out of context.
And whilst it’s good the likes of Sheyi Ojo believes the Ibrox club are better than their rivals across the city, it’s important he does his talking on the pitch.
Because for the likes of Neil Lennon, the comments will act as solid motivation for the campaign ahead.
