The legendary captain and last season’s interim gaffer shared his thoughts on the skipper who is often much-maligned
06:00, 20 Mar 2026
Barry Ferguson and James Tavernier
People get the wrong idea about James Tavernier. And, hands up, I was probably one of them.
It wasn’t until I went into the Rangers dugout last season that I got to know the guy as a person and as a professional. To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect even though I had a lot of respect for him as a player.
But, over the course of the three months we worked together, I got to see a side of him that very few others ever do. And I honestly can’t speak highly enough of the guy and everything he stands for.
Trust me on this one, Tav is the consummate professional and, despite what anyone else out there may think, he lives and breathes Rangers Football Club in very much the same way that I always have.
That’s why I know how much he’ll be hurting every time his name is not on Danny Rohl’s team sheet, now that this season is reaching such a crucial stage. But it won’t change the way he goes about his business.
And I would say the exact same thing for big John Souttar who was also a real stalwart for me during my short time in charge.
Rangers’ James Tavernier
These guys get it. It matters to them. The club is right under their skin.
And I very quickly realised that I could place my complete and utter trust in them because I could see they cared as much as I did.
Let me tell you something about Tav. He was the first one into training every morning. And when the work was done for the day and the rest of the boys were heading home, he’d go back out with a bag of balls to practise his set pieces.
Soutts? He was a player whose career I had followed closely since he broke through at Dundee United. I always rated him highly.
But he grew into a man when he moved to Hearts and my respect for him grew at the same time. We’re talking about a guy who came back from potentially career ending achilles injuries and I know how mentally difficult that must have been for him.
But I also understand how tough and resilient it has made him.
So, while the big man will be bitterly disappointed about dropping out of the starting XI, he’ll also be bursting a gut every day on the training pitch to show that he’s ready to be called on whenever the manager needs him.
Put it this way, I can guarantee that neither of them will be throwing their toys out of the pram or throwing strops around the training ground.
One of them is the captain. The other is the vice captain. And their qualities as leaders will be massively important even if they’re both stuck on the bench more often than they’d like.
I actually have a feeling that Tav and Soutts will have key roles to play on the pitch between now and the end of the season. In fact, I’m absolutely certain of it.
But, having got to know them as people, I’m also completely convinced that they’ll be giving everything for their team mates and for the club even when they’re not getting stripped.
They are exactly the kind of solid pros and characters that every manager and every good dressing room needs and they will understand they have a responsibility to knuckle down and do everything they can to help Rangers through these last eight games of a potentially title winning campaign.
It’ll mean the world to both of them if they get their hands on the trophy and obviously, for a lot of reasons, I’d love to see that happen.
At the same time, I do have to recognise that the guys who are challenging them for starting places are playing a big part in making Rangers look like a team capable of going all the way this season.
Dujon Sterling and Tav are competing for the right back slot. And Duj is another one I’d have beside me in the trenches every day of the week.
I never worked with Manny Fernandez or Nasser Djiga but they’re beginning to form a very strong partnership in the centre of defence after taking a while to adjust to life at Rangers in the early part of the season.
Fernandez always carried a threat in the opposition box. His height and aerial ability make him almost impossible to defend against. But it’s his improvement at the other end of the pitch which has really caught my eye. He’s quickly turning into a top quality centre half.
And there’s a big difference in Djiga too because it looks to me as if he’s realised the need to go back to basics. He’s not doing things that are beyond him – the sort of risky stuff he was guilty of under the previous manager.
He’s keeping things simple by defending his penalty box. And he looks like a different player because of it.
I heard Russell Martin on the radio the other day and let’s just say it was an interesting listen. He clearly has his own ideas on the way he thinks the game should be played and says he regrets not sticking more rigidly to those principles – and that’s fine.
But there’s only one principle that matters for any Rangers manager. And that’s finding a way of winning.
Unfortunately for Russell, he struggled to do that and he did admit that he probably let too many big players leave when he took the job last summer. I agree. But these were his decisions so, whether he likes it or not, they are on him.
For starters, I made no secret of the fact that I would have moved heaven and earth to keep Vaclav Cerny at the club. And I also struggled to see any sense in letting Cyriel Dessers move on because I know how much playing for the club meant to the big man.
Yes, he may have missed some chances but If I’m not mistaken, that was 47 goals which left the building when the two of them moved on. And that was always going to leave a massive hole for any new manager to fill. It was obvious. It’s not rocket science.
There was another player who really impressed me during my time and that’s why I’m so thrilled for Findlay Curtis getting a Scotland call up earlier this week.
The young man made a brave decision to go on loan to Kilmarnock because he knew he needed more game time for his development. He’s Rangers daft so the easier option would have been to stay put, be a part of the 18 every week, and settle for the odd start or 10 or 20 minutes here or there.
But he took the bull by the horns by agreeing to sign up for a fight against relegation and he’s gone on to show everyone just what a talent he’s got.
Put it this way, I fully expect Steve Clarke will be every bit as impressed with his character as I was so Findlay could have a very big summer ahead of him.
The same goes for Tav and Soutts. There’s nothing better than seeing good things happen to good people. So, over the next few weeks, I wish them nothing but the best.
