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Ian Durrant names 'immense' Rangers captain in the making as he spots readymade James Tavernier replacement
Rangers legend Ian Durrant reckons John Souttar would be the perfect pick to take over as Ibrox skipper once James Tavernier hangs up his armband.
The Light Blues defender has been one of the few Light Blues performers able to hold his head high this season. With Philippe Clement’s team limping along nine points behind Premiership pacesetters Celtic and Aberdeen, some fans have questioned if current skipper Tavernier is really the best man to lead the side out.
Retired midfield star Durrant isn’t ready to join the chorus of calls demanding a change. But he has been impressed by Souttar’s resilient displays for club and county in recent weeks.
The Scotland centre-back was arguably man of the match against both Croatia and Poland this week as he threw himself in front of every ball to ensure Steve Clarke’s side picked up back-to-back wins in the Nations League. And it’s that bravery and commitment which Durrant reckons makes him captaincy material.
Durrant said: “When you heard about Souttar in the past, his career was always stop start and how he’d had these really bad Achilles injuries. But I watched him for Scotland and I’ve watched him for Rangers and he's been immense.
"If Tav was to come out of the team, it looks like Philippe Clement could go to Souttar or Jack Butland to pass on the armband. He's an experienced boy and could handle the captaincy. He's stood up and he's been absolutely immense for Scotland. I hope he just now carries on and is immense for Rangers.”
Durrant knows Tavernier is under pressure after a drop in form this season. He was stood down from action when Gers travelled to Athens to face Olympiacos in the Europa League earlier this month - the first time in his nine-and-a-half year Ibrox stay that he’s failed to start a major fixture.
But Durrant reckons the Rangers faithful should be backing and not berating their 33-year-old captain. And he expects Souttar to lend a hand too. Asked if there were enough strong characters in Clement’s team, the nine-in-a-row icon said: “Of course there is. The captain's come in for a bit of a stick but look at his overall contribution. Now we need to get behind him.
“Looking across the squad, you’ve got a keeper, who’s outstanding. Souttar has been absolutely immense the last 10 days for Scotland.
"He looks like he could be a leader. So it's time for big Souttar, if the going gets tough, he'll be one of the ones you look to be in the trenches with. There will be tough times, don't worry about that.
“But it's how you come out the other end of it. The manager's taken a bit of a battering but he's strong enough. He's experienced enough to know if he gets everybody fit, he'll have them challenging up on the league.”
Clement has been left clinging to his job after defeat to Aberdeen at the end of October them them trailing Jimmy Thelin’s rampant Reds and joint-leaders Celtic. The pressure remains on but Durrant said: “I'm not saying they need a siege mentality. You've got to take criticism. There's a level of criticism, but you've just got to channel it the right way and the right way is winning games.
“That's what it takes now and it might be a scrappy. It might be a 1-0, but I've played in a million of them. At the end of the day, if you win the league, nobody will remember the scrappy games you won.
"They'll just remember the 1-0 and the three points. There's just a bit of frustration of how poorly they were at Aberdeen. It's how you react at Rangers. You've got to react in a positive manner and it's winning games, winning cups, winning leagues. That's what matters at Rangers.”
Durrant got his big break at Ibrox during a similarly bleak period during the early 80s. And he admits he’d love to see Clement give some more homegrown youngsters their chance if the club’s expensive imports are failing to deliver.
“Of course I would,” he said. “I was brought up as a young boy, and I loved the identity of the club. Just now we're having a wee bit of a struggle in terms of getting players through. We've got young Ross McCausland and Leon King. Young Alex Lowry has been injured. But again, if they're good enough, and I'm sure if they are good enough, they'll show the manager.
“I've seen there's been a few boys in European squad. So long may it continue, because that's what we want, and that's what the club want - people coming through from a youth academy. If your youth academy is working, then it saves you a few bob in the transfer market.”
Rangers legend Ian Durrant was speaking as he launched a new Rangers Lotto campaign for The Rangers Youth Development Company at Ibrox.
RYDC are selling signed Rangers Legends prints, mugs, coasters and Christmas decorations and fans can contact RYDC on 0141 427 4914 or browse the online store at www.rydc.co.uk to place an order. Profit from their products is donated to the Rangers Academy and more than £11.5million has been generated so far.
