Jim Bett played for Glasgow Rangers in the 1980s and while at Ibrox earned his first call-up for Scotland.
Glasgow Rangers ace Ryan Jack has been compared to Ibrox 1980s star Jim Bett by Neil Cooper, who used to coach the youth team at Jack’s former club Aberdeen.
The 27-year-old has been a revelation for Steven Gerrard’s side and impressed in the Gers midfield again on Saturday by scoring in the 3-1 win away to Hearts.
In doing so, the one-time Aberdeen man notched his fourth Scottish Premiership goal of the season, and Gerrard has gone on record to express disbelief as to why he does not have more than two Scotland caps (Daily Mail).
Jack’s natural role at Ibrox has been to anchor the engine room and protect the defence, but his talents in assisting in the attacking side of the game and weigh in with goal contributions of his own is a very good added bonus.
Cooper, who has worked alongside Jack, believes there is a lot more to come from the Rangers player and compared him to Jim Bett, who made upwards of 100 appearances for the Ibrox club between 1980 and 1983, and went on to have an illustrious stint at Aberdeen later on in his career.
“Ryan was aware that you needed to work hard in everything that you do in terms of the ball work, the technique and possession as well as the ways to win it back for your team,” Cooper is quoted by the Daily Record as saying.
“You give Ryan the ball under pressure with a man tight to him and you could see him turn and hold him off. I’ve said it before but reminded me of Jim Bett in the way he could do that. Take a ball with someone close to him and be able to check back out and that bought a couple of extra seconds to get a pass away and keep the team moving.”
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