Kris Boyd has praised Russell Martin for hanging his hat on James Tavernier as his Rangers captain amid growing fan unrest about the Englishman’s suitability for the role.
The defender’s loss of form last season became so pronounced that then manager Philippe Clement took him out of the team at one stage.
Set to turn 34 in October and about to start his 11th year at Ibrox, the full-back looked vulnerable when the club began their latest managerial hunt following Barry Ferguson’s departure.
But Martin — a former Rangers team-mate — last week gave his unequivocal backing to the veteran, stating he was ‘hugely important’ to the side, with no need to give anyone else the armband.
And former Ibrox striker Boyd feels the new man at the helm has done exactly the right thing by ensuring the team has a degree of continuity among the inevitable changes of style and personnel.
‘I think because Celtic have been so dominant now for a period of time, because James Tavernier has been the Rangers captain, he’s always going to be that scapegoat as such,’ he stated.
James Tavernier has been back to carry on leading Rangers by his new manager
Russell Martin played alongside Tavernier during his own short spell in Light Blue
Boyd was speaking as he helped launch the latest wave of McDonald’s Fun Football sessions
‘If you break down his Rangers’ career, in terms of numbers, in terms of goals, in terms of assists, then it’s very, very good.
‘Ultimately, when you’re the captain of Rangers, you’re going to be judged on winning trophies. And that’s not been at a level where he was expected to be. It’s not been a level where Rangers is expected to be. So, you’re going to come in for criticism.
‘But one thing about Tavernier — and Connor Goldson before him — is that they turn up for their work, they’re there every single training session. They’re there every single game. They play the games.
‘I think in football, and in life, when you go looking for problems, then you’re going to find them. They’ll come to you anyway. There’s no point in going looking for them.
‘So, I can totally understand where Russell Martin’s coming from.
‘You’re looking for people who have delivered in games and have done well for a period of time because he’s going to need experienced players. There’s no getting away from it. You need big characters.’
Boyd also hopes that Martin blocks out the noise which constantly surrounds Cyriel Dessers to ensure the striker remains central to his plans.
Even in a struggling Rangers team, the Nigeria international was the Premiership’s top scorer last season and netted 29 times in all competitions.
Cyriel Dessers is another to come under fire but Boyd says he must be trusted to score goals
‘A lot of players at Rangers recently have become better players when they’ve not been playing,’ added Boyd at McDonald’s Fun Football initiative at Hampden.
‘The ones who have been playing are the ones who’ve been criticised. But they’re the ones who are prepared to put themselves out there, take the flak and try and correct the performance levels of recent times.
‘People speak about Dessers, but to score the amout of goals that he scored is impressive.
‘You’ve got others in there like Danilo at £5.5million. He’s hardly played. You’d be looking for more. Hamza Igamane’s form is up and down.
‘But the one who is continuously there, scoring goals week in, week out, and has missed a couple of chances, he’s the one that’s been criticised.
‘The other ones who have not contributed to anything seem to get away with it.
‘Would I hang on to him? One hundred per cent. Everybody tells you scoring goals is the hardest thing in the game. You’ve got somebody there who’s doing it on a regular basis.
‘Again, I’ll say it. There are other ones who are a problem for Rangers. Cyriel Dessers isn’t a problem.’
Kris Boyd was celebrating the latest free wave of McDonald’s Fun Football sessions this summer, available to all children aged 5-11 across the UK. You can sign up now for your nearest free session at mcdonalds.co.uk/football
