IN the six years or so that Connor Goldson has been a player at Rangers, he has seen umpteen new signings arrive.

Many of them, the likes of Jack Butland, John Souttar, Ridvan Yilmaz, John Lundstram, Mohamed Diomande and Todd Cantwell for example, have established themselves in the first team and flourished.

Others, though, have proved unable to cope with the scrutiny they suddenly find themselves under or satisfy the demands of supporters and have departed after failing to make an impact.

Goldson confessed yesterday as he looked ahead to the momentous cinch Premiership match against Celtic at Ibrox tomorrow that he feared Cyriel Dessers, who was brought in from Cremonese in Italy last summer at a cost of £4.5m, might become one of the latter in the opening weeks of this season.

Dessers struggled to justify the significant outlay which it had taken to secure his services at first and fans desperate to see their heroes end their city rivals’ spell of domestic dominance were not shy about letting the forward know what they thought.

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His new team mate felt for him. “For that to happen at the start of his Rangers career?” he said. “I think a lot of people would have gone under.”

The Englishman, who is vice-captain to his good friend and fellow defender James Tavernier, recalled how he took the Nigerian aside to offer him some words of encouragement and advice.

Glasgow Times: However, he was impressed with the way the new arrival did not allow his head to go down and the effort which he continued to put in on a daily basis during training at Auchenhowie despite the flak which was flying in his direction.

He has not been surprised to see him ride out that tough period and come good.

“I think you have to give Cyriel massive credit for that,” he said. “I have been here for a long time and I understand how hard it is when you go through bad times. I have said it before - it is the best club in the world to play for when things go well, but it is the hardest club to play for when things don’t.

“I spoke to him. But, to be fair to him, he carried on working and working and working. We knew it would turn around at some point and luckily, not only for him but for the whole team and all the new players, it did. He is getting goals now and everyone is happy with him.”

Dessers has now been on target on no fewer than 17 occasions in all competitions. He failed to find the target in the defeats which Rangers suffered at the hands of Celtic at Ibrox in September or Parkhead in December. But Goldson is convinced he can make a difference this weekend and help the home team to secure a victory which will increase their chances of lifting the Scottish title come May greatly.

The man who was a regular starter as the Govan club went undefeated in the league in the 2020/21 season and became champions for the first time in nine long years, though, has stressed that the striker has to maintain his form and focus until the final fixture. He is not paying any attention to those who have billed this weekend’s derby as a title decider. 

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“Recently Cyriel has been doing that really well so hopefully that can continue,” he said. “He just needs to keep doing it every single game. At the end of the season he will be judged on his numbers. It won’t just be this game, he will be judged on how he has helped the team throughout the season and how many goals he has scored.

“But I think at the minute, with where we are in the league, every game is big. They are all three points. That is what the manager has told us this week and he’s right. If we win on Sunday and slip up against Dundee on Wednesday, then there’s no point.”

Scoring the winner against Celtic and sending Rangers, who have game in hand against Dundee at Dens Park to play next midweek, two points clear at the top of the table would endear Dessers to the Ibrox faithful for life. Goldson can testify to that.

The former Brighton defender pitched in with both goals in a 2-0 triumph over Celtic at an empty Parkhead during the Covid-19 pandemic three years ago and he is constantly reminded of his brace. He looks back on that 90 minutes with fondness. But he is more interested in keeping a clean sheet tomorrow.  

“It was a strange experience,” he said. “That moment was brilliant for me, but also brilliant for the club. Obviously that day was just written for me and was meant to be. It was just one of those days. I had scored a few goals before it that season going up and I was full of confidence. It was just meant to be.

“It would be amazing to score in a full stadium. But, at the same time, I really don’t care. I’m maybe due a goal, but I don’t care who scores as long as we can stamp our authority on the game and get three points. That is all that matters.”

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Goldson is hopeful that midfielder Diomande and striker Fabio Silva, who will be making their Old Firm debuts tomorrow, can give Rangers an edge against Celtic which they have perhaps lacked this season.  

“I think they have settled really well, really quickly,” he said. “They are both really young boys, but they have both come in and wanted to learn and wanted to help the team. They both give us different dynamics.

“Dio is very good on the ball and in tight spaces his control and first touch is brilliant. He wants to play forward and he wants to get forward and score goals. Fabio has obviously played in a few different positions. But he has done a good job. He has worked hard for the team and has produced a few numbers at the other end of the pitch.”

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