Rangers star James Tavernier has been named the WhoScored.com Premiership Player of the Month for October in the latest blow to his critics.
Tavernier led the Gers to a historic league title last season and won the PFA Scotland Player of the Year award.
However, after he made a relatively slow start to the season, it didn’t take long for many critics both inside and outside of the Rangers support to call for him to be dropped for Nathan Patterson.
Those critics have been, intentionally or otherwise, overlooking his continued vital importance to Steven Gerrard’s side, though, which he demonstrated fully at Fir Park on Sunday.
On his 30th birthday, the right-back scored a superb volley and notched two assists to help his team come from 1-0 down to beat Motherwell 6-1.
The win came just a few days after a 2-2 draw with Aberdeen at Ibrox during which he assisted one goal and scored the other from the spot.
Earlier in the month, he also assisted Alfredo Morelos’ winning goal at St Mirren.
Unsurprisingly, those major contributions helped earn him the WhoScored.com [via Sky Sports] Premiership Player of the Month title.
Tavernier received an average rating of 8.22 for the month and was the only player to achieve a rating above 8.
He was joined in the XI by two of his Rangers teammates – Alfredo Morelos (7.16) and Fashion Sakala (7.70).
Morelos scored three goals in October, netting winners against Hibernian and St Mirren, and getting the Gers back into the game in the home draw with Aberdeen.
Sakala appeared in just three of the five Premiership fixtures in the month and only started one, but he won the penalty scored by Tavernier against Aberdeen and achieved a perfect 10 WhoScored.com rating after netting a brilliant hat-trick against Motherwell.
Meanwhile, a third exciting right-back is emerging at Ibrox behind James Tavernier and Nathan Patterson.
