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Rangers right-back James Tavernier has hit back at his critics with a brilliant performance against Kilmarnock.
It has hardly been the season that Rangers fans would have expected at the start of the campaign. The club’s new ownership hired Russell Martin as manager, only to sack the former Southampton boss after just 123 days in charge, the shortest tenure of any Rangers manager in history.
After spending time searching for his replacement, Rangers have settled on appointing Danny Rohl. The German spent almost two years in charge of Sheffield Wednesday, helping the club defy the odds across two campaigns by keeping them in the Championship.
Rohl is a highly regarded young coach and though his tenure at Ibrox began with an away defeat to Brann in the Europa League, the 36-year-old enjoyed a winning start to life in the Scottish Premiership, overseeing a 3-1 win over Kilmarnock. This was a game that one Rangers player in particular used to suggest that he could remain a key part of the first team.
Tavernier Responds to Critics
Playing at Ibrox, Rangers captain James Tavernier was deployed on the right-hand side of a back three. The Bradford-born defender has been with the Gers for a decade and for the entirety of that tenure, has been a mainstay in the first team.
Renowned for his goalscoring as a defender, Tavernier has received criticism, as per the Daily Record, in recent months for his form. Like Rangers as a whole, it has not been at the expected level, though Tavernier has become something of a scapegoat amongst Rangers fans.
Against Kilmarnock, though, Tavernier looked back to his best, even notching an assist for Derek Cornelius when the defender opened the scoring. It was a first assist of the season for the 33-year-old who, despite being critiqued at times throughout the campaign, has scored more Premiership goals, four, than any of his teammates.
Tavernier was given an 8/10 rating by Glasgow World for his display against Kilmarnock and if the defender can maintain such form, it would be a major benefit to Rohl, who will no doubt look to build upon his debut win in the Scottish top flight and guide Rangers back up the table.
Nafisa