Gareth McAuley’s experience was one of the key factors that made him an attractive signing for Steven Gerrard.
Rangers legend Terry Butcher agrees with this, and feels Ross McCrorie and Joe Worrall will learn much from the centre-back.
You can’t deny McAuley is perhaps the most experienced veteran in the Rangers squad now. He’s yet to start a game this season, but you can’t argue with any of his other stats. McAuley has 79 international caps and over 200 Premier League appearances to his name down south.
The Northern Irishman has been there and done it all. Sergio Aguero, David Silva, and Luis Suarez are just a few of the big-names to have faced the big centre-back in recent years.
Butcher, therefore, feels that experience is going to be vital for two of Rangers’ youngsters.
“If you have got a good experienced pro there then the other players will certainly learn from him. Ross McCrorie will learn from him, other young players will learn from him.
“They will see what he does, how he behaves. You don’t get to play in the Premier League for so long and play international football for so long being a bad pro. He will have good habits on and off the pitch which players can look at
“I have heard nothing but good things about Joe. He is certainly a good player for Scotland – he is very competitive and gets stuck in. You need that. Having Gareth there will only make him a better player.”
Worrall has to take as much in as he can
McCrorie is gong to have a tough time getting back into the team as it stands. The Scotland Under-21 captain is now a holding midfielder, in what’s become the most competitive area of the Gers squad.
Therefore, it’s Worrall who could really do with learning as much as he can from McAuley. The on-loan Nottingham Forest centre-back has made poor errors against the likes of Livingston and Kilmarnock so far this season, and still has yet to convince many at Ibrox.
What he does have on his side, however, is time to develop at just 21-years of age. Playing alongside such a veteran like McAuley should be instrumental to his development.
Despite winning the Toulon Tournament with England, Worrall should aspire to be the player McAuley is today. With everything the big veteran has experienced at Premier League level down south, that’s the level Worrall wants to reach.
Rangers supporters will at least be hoping, in the short term, that McAuley can help stamp out the mistakes in Worrall. McCrorie is the more reliable of the pair, but Worrall plays exactly where McAuley does.
With Gerrard yet to find his perfect centre-back pairing, the pair will be vying it out with each other for a slot in the Gers defence. All the while, however, Worrall should be watching his rival closely for tips.
