Former Rangers ace defends winger.
Former Rangers attacker Lee McCulloch has defended winger Daniel Candeias after the club’s League Cup semi-final defeat.
Rangers fell 1-0 to Aberdeen on Sunday, ending this season’s first opportunity to win a trophy.
Candeias was last season’s Rangers player of the year, scoring eight times. So far this season he has just one goal.
Speaking to the Evening Times, McCulloch defended Candeias from criticism, while also admitting the Portuguese winger needs to find a way to get back to his best.
He said: “On the right, you have Daniel Candeias, who I really like. He sets the tone in the team for hard work, but despite looking really bright running with the ball on Sunday, there again was a lack of quality in his decision-making and with his final ball.
“I feel sorry for him though, because I think he gets a lot of unwarranted stick from the terraces. You can’t argue with his application and desire to go and play for a team he clearly loves, he just needs to show the quality we all know he has on a more regular basis.”
Candeias is 30 and is yet to find his best form under new manager Steven Gerrard.
It is frustrating because he showed what he is capable of last season and while other players have improved, he has gone backwards.
The weekend result does not count in his favour, but he was not the only Rangers player to fail to produce, and his job was made harder by the side being without their two first choice strikers.
Candeias will hope to keep his place for Rangers’ next fixture, at home to Kilmarnock tomorrow night.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
