CONNOR GOLDSON doesn’t need the armband to lead, doesn’t need the plaudits to be proud of his performances. The backing of his manager is more than enough for him.

That faith has never waned, the belief never diminished. One of the first signings that Steven Gerrard made, Goldson is now one of the first names in his team.

Gerrard knows the defender splits opinion but Goldson’s part in his squad and in his side has rarely been in doubt over a Rangers career that now spans more than 100 appearances.

Crucially, of course, it has not yielded any silverware as yet. If that was to be achieved this term, there would be few who would have played as consistent a part as Goldson.

At 27, the Englishman is now at the peak of his powers and a career that could have been cut short not that long ago is now being lived to the fullest.

It is difficult to earn Gerrard’s trust and those that achieve it are well looked after, rewarded with game time and extended deals to mark their commitment to the cause and the quality that they show. As a player and a person, Goldson ticks the right boxes for Gerrard.

“I don't think Connor gets the credit he deserves and that's not just this season, that's looking at the big picture,” Gerrard said.

“He's been robust, he's always available and has rarely missed a training session. He's in fantastic shape, he's a leader and so professional.

“He's made a couple of individual errors that I think people hold him to.

“But he's so important to this team. I can't express how important he is to us.

“He's been consistent during the pre-season. But because Leon has come in with strong performances, Connor's have gone under the radar.

“But only with other people, not with me. He's a vital member of this squad. He's in my leadership group and I see him as a captain.

“We've got big trust in him. I don't know why he doesn't get the credit he deserves but that's only on the outside.

“His team-mates value him a lot, as do the staff and the club. That's the only thing that really matters in terms of Connor's thinking. We're right behind him and we know he's done a fantastic job for us.”

The role that Goldson plays behind closed doors covers everything from camaraderie to discipline as he and a select few others effectively run the dressing room.

On the park and in public, his influence is just as important and he has been a mainstay of the side so far as Rangers have lost just once – away to Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League – in the opening weeks of the campaign.

That defeat in Germany is the only time that Gerrard’s side have conceded this term, with Aberdeen, St Mirren and St Johnstone causing them few problems as three Premiership wins have been recorded with relative ease.

The benefits of the work undertaken during pre-season are clear and those foundations must continue to be built upon if a more sustained and successful title challenge is to be launched this term.

“It's been one of the significant improvements,” Gerrard said. “The players are really focused and we've put a lot of work in on the training ground throughout pre-season.

“Having a longer pre-season certainly helped in terms of our organisation.

“If you look at us over two years, it's been very rare to have training days where you can work on tactics, in and out of possession.

“Off the top of my head, we've probably only had between 20 and 30 days to really work on our shape because we were either on a recovery day or game day minus one where it has to be light.

“So the time has been really valuable to work on our distances, where we need to be defensively and different scenarios within games. So we've really enjoyed that work we've given them.”

The trip to Livingston this afternoon will give Rangers their biggest test of the campaign so far. Having dealt with a shot-shy Aberdeen and both Saints relatively comfortably, a hustle and bustle 90 minutes against the Lions will show what Gerrard’s side are made of.

The additions to the Ibrox squad have mainly come in an attacking sense this summer but Rangers are reaping the rewards of efforts at the other end of the park too.

Gerrard said: “We worked ever so hard and we have done since coming in. We’ve focused on our organisation, our distances, our aggression out of possession.

“But the players have done the work, they listen, we do unit meetings, we do individual meetings.

“In terms of the staff and myself we’ve put a lot of time and effort into this organisation and we’re getting the rewards for it at the moment.

“But it’s still early days. We’ve got a lot of hard work to do defensively to try to improve.

“There are still bits we can polish up on. The other night we still gave away a couple of decent chances away in terms of St Johnstone.

“So it’s a work in progress but I think in terms of pre-season and the games so far we’ve been rewarded with all the hard work that’s gone into it with the defensive shape.”