THE problem with football these days, and this is especially true in Glasgow, is that one week you are a hero and a great player and the next week you are a dud and people want rid of you. That is the culture.

James Tavernier unfairly finds himself in that position with some Rangers fans right now. When he plays well, they love him. But when he makes a mistake, like he did against Young Boys or Hearts, they want him dropped from the side.

James’ role and responsibility in the team, first and foremost, is as a defender. And, as a defender, his priority, and that of those around him, has to be keeping clean sheets.

At times, it doesn’t matter if you can pass the ball or can’t get forward. As a back four, you have to defend properly and that is the job.

Unfortunately for James, the errors he has made recently have been punished and been costly for Rangers. But James will be the first one to put his hands up and say he should have done better in Bern or at Tynecastle. Mistakes happen.

You don’t become a bad player overnight and some of the criticism towards him has been over the top, unfair and unwarranted.

Yes, sometimes you just have to clear your lines. That is what a defender does and when you are deep in your own half, you don’t take chances or try to be too clever with the ball. Keep it simple.

If you need to, you put your foot through it and you get it out of the danger area and you regroup. James does like to try and play out from certain situations and really bad errors are thankfully sparse.

Every member of that back four has made mistakes this season and they know it comes with the territory that if you do that then it could have consequences.

When you give away soft goals, you have to work hard to get back into the game and, like against Hearts, you might not be able to do enough to come back and win it.

A lot of the goals we have lost this season have been simple mistakes and we have gifted opportunities to the opposition. You can’t do that because you won’t get away with it.

The back four have to play as a unit and they need to work together to keep clean sheets and give the team the best chance of winning matches. Overall it has been a really positive start to the season for Rangers, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t areas they can still improve on and get better at.

There have been times when the defensive record has been good this season but the two defeats - against Celtic and Young Boys - and the draw with Hearts were certainly avoidable for Rangers and that will frustrate Steven Gerrard.

When you can pass and move and play a one-two with someone and get yourself up the park, that is great. But it is knowing when to play as a team and a unit.

When it doesn’t work, the fans will immediately get on your back and James will know that as well as anyone in the squad right now.

He will put his hands up and say it was his fault, and do all he can to make amends for the team.

We have seen how important James can be as an attacking threat for Rangers over the years he has been at the club and the number of goals he has scored is fantastic.

When people were questioning his role as penalty taker earlier this season, he didn’t shy away from the responsibility and he stood up and put away two against Aberdeen.

Going forward, he can be a real asset. He is a huge part of the team.

The manager won’t want to take that side out of his game, but he needs the whole defence, this isn’t just about James Tavernier, to defend properly first and foremost.

James will find himself under a bit of pressure right now because he is the man that is getting it from the fans, and from the Press. But that won’t faze him and he has seen enough during his time at Ibrox to understand how it is here.

It is easy for one player to quickly become the bad guy and the target but I am sure James has the character to block that out.

There are more positives to James Tavernier than there are negatives and the manager and his team-mates will rightly have no doubts about him as he looks to regain a higher level of form.

James is the best right-back that Steven Gerrard has at Ibrox and that is why he will retain the faith of his manager and keep his shirt and the captain’s armband.