The last Rangers captain to win Scotland’s top flight has been impressed by the current skipper
It’s been 10 years since Rangers last won the biggest trophy in Scottish football.
The man who lifted the trophy as captain that day was veteran defender David Weir, and with the current crop of Rangers stars looking set to win the title a decade on, Weir has heaped praise on the current skipper.
James Tavernier has run the gamut of emotions in his time at the club, and as recently as March 2020 was the recipient of criticism from supporters.
This season, however, Tavernier has been a crucial part of Steven Gerrard’s side as they have accumulated a 20-point lead at the top of the Premiership.
In 26 league games, the right-back has scored 11 goals and set up 10.
As quoted by the Scottish Sun, Weir said: “I am genuinely pleased for James Tavernier because he has been through it all from start to finish.
“There’s been a real range of emotions there. Hopefully, after all of that, he can go on and win the league.
“With the nature of Scottish football and the noise all round about it, you are judged harshly sometimes. And sometimes very quickly.
“You know what it’s like.
“Even when Steven Davis came back up from Southampton, people were saying, ‘He doesn’t look the same player, he’s not the guy to do it’.
“Being a footballer in Glasgow isn’t an easy life. Playing for Rangers can be hard. Tavernier has ridden that out.
“People like him are successful because they can manage that and go out and do it on the pitch, where it needs to be done.
“Tavernier has not over-reacted to things that have happened. He’s just done his job and hopefully he gets the rewards for it all soon.
“I think Tavernier has consistently been very good for a while now. Even in the early part of his career at Rangers, he was still a stand-out.
“Now he is playing in a stronger team, with better players, in bigger games.
“Rangers have improved. They are much more competitive now, both domestically and in European football.
“The levels of consistency Tavernier brings to the team for where they are at now is really impressive, especially in the final third.
“He’s doing a huge amount to help the team win games.”
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