Inside James Tavernier’s Rangers career ahead of 500th game milestone as skipper now onto new position and TENTH manager

BARRY FERGUSON has saluted James Tavernier as a “real leader” as he prepares for his 500th Rangers appearance.

Ex-Gers skipper Fergie worked with the right-back for the first time in the 4-2 midweek win over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.

Keith Campbell – The Sun Glasgow

James Tavernier was signed by Mark Warburton back in 2015[/caption]

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The 2021 Scottish Premiership title win is a highlight of his Gers career[/caption]

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The run to the 2022 Europa League final is both a high and a low of his tenure[/caption]

And the captain’s adjustment to the centre-back role he was thrown into after Clinton Nsiala was hooked on just 31 minutes at 2-0 down won the interim gaffer’s admiration.

Ferguson said: “First and foremost, it’s an unbelievable achievement, 500 games.

“James has been through a lot in his Rangers career, but one thing I’ve always got with James is he never hides. He’s puts himself out there to play.

“On Wednesday night, when I moved him from his natural right-back position to centre-half, he was exceptional, a real leader. That’s what I want from a captain.

“We’ve had a few good chats. He’s an important player for me.

“To reach 500 games, he deserves a lot of credit.”

Tavernier has won every domestic honour and led Gers to a Euro final.

But he has also faced flak as Gers have operated in Celtic’s shadow in all but one of his ten seasons at Ibrox.

Asked about the criticism, Ferguson added: “That’s part of playing at Rangers.

“When you lose and don’t play well, it’s generally the captain who gets it in the neck, but he’s big enough to handle those situations.

“I’ve been through it. It’s not nice at times, but I’m afraid that’s the nature of the beast when you play here.”

Tavernier will lead out Rangers against Motherwell at Ibrox, just under a decade on from his debut in a 6-2 Challenge Cup win over Hibs.

Team-mate Robin Propper said: “It’s a big day for him — 500 is a beautiful number.

“He brings a lot to the team in the locker room. He also does a lot on the field.

“He speaks to everybody. He’s open-minded, he’s a real captain in that.

“I can learn from him and the young guys can learn from him. He’s a real leader in our squad who wants the best for the team.”

Tav is my best buy

The man who signed Tavernier says there’s nothing fake about his achievement.

Mark Warburton forked out less than £250,000 to lure the right-back and Martyn Waghorn from Wigan Athletic a decade ago.

Ex-boss Warbs says Tavernier deserves all the praise for his honesty and dedication over ten seasons in Scotland.

Warburton told SunSport: “Tav is a great character. What you see is what you get, he’s very genuine and very honest.

“Tav deserves every plaudit for reaching 500 games for Rangers.

“Nothing about him is an act, nothing is fake with Tav.

“He’s a top lad and he absolutely appreciates what it means to captain such a club.

“He knows what’s involved and what it takes to captain Rangers.

“He knows the expectations, the demands and the role he has to play. He’s had the best education and he gets it.

“He’ll quite rightly go down as one of the great Rangers players.

“Will he also go down as one of the best pound-for-pound signings? I hope so, that would be nice.”

Gers were in the Championship when Warburton took Tavernier to Ibrox. He made an instant impact with a goal on his debut — a 6-2 Challenge Cup win over Hibs at Easter Road in July 2015.

They won the second-tier title and Challenge Cup in that first season together.

Tavernier has won every domestic honour, led Gers to the Europa League final and was inducted into their Hall of Fame.

He has scored 129 goals — a record for a defender — and his corner for Cyriel Dessers’ first goal against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on Wednesday night was his 140th assist.

Warburton said: “We’d watched Tav very closely and were very aware of his attacking prowess, his goals and his delivery and his pace as well.

“He and Waghorn were the first two targets and, thankfully, both were landed for such a paltry sum of money. It was less than £250,000 for the pair of them and I was very pleased with that piece of business.

“Waghorn was tremendous. He scored 38 goals in that first season. People forget we had no money at that time. I get annoyed about it as we had a very tight budget.

“We were signing players for next to nothing and paying them next to nothing.

“We beat Celtic in a Scottish Cup semi-final with a team on a fraction of Celtic’s wages.

“Tav was a great bit of business. I’m delighted to see how his career has unfolded.”

Warburton says Tavernier has devoted himself on and off the field to Gers. He’s worked hard to stay fit for ten managers and rarely rocked the boat.

Former QPR, Brentford and Nottingham Forest boss Warburton said: “Tav used to sit and talk to Lee Wallace. Lee’s a great man and was a great player for me and a great mentor for Tav.

“Kenny Miller also played a tremendous part in Tav’s development, both as a player and a human being.

“Tav’s availability to play has always been a massive thing. His injury record for training every day and playing every week is amazing. He’s always there.

“You need to be an incredible athlete to meet those demands.

“At Rangers, you play so many games. You’re in Europe, you’re travelling, you’re staying in hotels.

“His body meets all those demands and he keeps himself in great shape.

“He’s a top-class athlete. He’s had to work so hard to maintain those levels of performance that are the envy of so many.”

Tavernier was inducted into the Hall of Fame alongside new Rangers goalie coach Allan McGregor and former captain Steven Davis two years ago.

It was two years after he’d won the title and a season after winning the Scottish Cup and enduring the pain of Euro final defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt in Seville.

He scored the only goal of the Premier Sports Cup final against Aberdeen 15 months ago to complete a full set of domestic winner’s medals.

But while Warburton recognises it has not always been plain sailing for the Yorkshireman, the criticism of Tavernier still rankles with him and gets him heated.

He said: “What has annoyed me is the criticism he’s faced when he’s had little dips in form.

“People have said derogatory and derisory things about him at times.

“They have phoned me to speak about him and I won’t say a bad word about the lad.”

Unlike many other high-profile figures in the game over the years, Tavernier has rarely sparked any off-field headlines during his time in Scotland.

He even declined to discuss his landmark 500th appearance for Gers before he runs out at Ibrox this afternoon.

Warburton isn’t at all surprised and added his own congratulations to the plaudits which will land at his door today.

He added: “He’s just a big family man. He lives life quietly.

“He likes a car, but so he should as he’s a young guy enjoying his success. He’s a top individual.

“He could have moved for more money at times, but he chose to stay at Rangers.

“He wanted to remain at a magnificent institution, a global brand of a football club.

“You won’t get a better stage than that.”

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