Connor Goldson couldn’t have dreamed of playing 67 games in Europe when he was scrubbing around at Shrewsbury at the start of his career.
So to be on the verge of clocking up that number of appearances in just over four seasons for Rangers and with a European final under his belt, it’s not difficult to understand the sense of wonder he still feels at the direction in which his career has taken since moving to Scotland from Brighton. Goldson, remember, had well documented heart issues to deal with as well and has overcome those to such a degree that he has been a virtual ever present since Steven Gerrard lured him north in the summer of 2018.
And with a league title and Scottish Cup win on his CV, as well as Seville, the only real bucket-list item still to be ticked is a Champions League appearance. Tonight in Eindhoven the 29-year-old can sort that out by helping his team overcome PSV to book their place in Europe’s elite competition for the first time since 2011.
That would also boost the club’s coffers by £40m, although Goldson was at pains yesterday to point out that prestige wins over pounds every time in the eyes of a player. He wants this, big time. Even if last season’s Europa League final against Eintracht Frankfurt will remain at top of his personal achievements, despite the penalty heartache that denied Rangers their first continental trophy in 50 years.
Asked if tonight’s clash with the Dutch giants would eclipse Seville in terms of importance to him, the centre back admitted: “Personally for me, no. I know what you mean, but Seville was a European final and not many players get to play in one of those through their whole career.
“I understand the financial gains the club will get for it but as a player we wanted to win in Seville because we would have been winners of the Europa League but we also knew we’d have been straight into the Champions League. This is another chance for us to get into the Champions League, where every single player wants to play. It would mean a lot. I never probably felt that I would play Champions League football.
"Growing up at Shrewsbury in League Two did I ever envisage that I’d be able to do that? Probably not. You have dreams as a kid and this is the pinnacle of club football so to do it would be an amazing achievement and hopefully we can.”
He accepts that in order to make it, Rangers will have to defend set pieces a lot better than they did in the 2-2 first leg draw at Ibrox when both PSV goals were conceded from corners. Goldson added: “We work on it every single match day minus one. It was disappointing to lose two goals from them as when you play against a team as good as PSV the last thing you want to do is give them two goals from corners.
“We’re setting up in a new way and it’s taken a little bit of adjustment but we’ve all got to be as big and brave as we can and defend them as best as possible. If you concede two goals in a game then you’re going to have to improve at them. We knew that ourselves.”
Inevitably, Goldson was asked to address the Alfredo Morelos situation. Typically, the vice-captain did not shirk the issue of the Colombian not travelling with the squad in the wake of his red card at Easter Road on Saturday.
But Goldson made it clear that while the squad was on board with boss Gio van Bronckhorst’s call, he hopes that Morelos can find the desire to get back to doing what he does best. He said: “If he’s fit and ready to play then he’s one of the best players for us but it’s not my decision. The manager has made his decision. He has obviously done something stupid and, yeah, on Saturday I think he obviously did let us down.
“But at the same time we are a team, we are a group and we have to be together. I just think that a fit and firing Alfredo is one of our most important players. Until he gets back to that then I don’t think he is helping us as much as he can.
“He has had a massive injury, probably the first big injury he has had in his career. It has taken some time to come back from that, but we need him to be fit and ready. The only time we have won things as a football club is when we have all stuck together.
“We’re here to do a job. We’re all professional, we all play for this club and we all set our goals at the start of each season and we want to play in the Champions League. The job is still the same and we’ve got a massive night ahead of us and we all want to produce.”
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