James Tavernier has already been inducted into the Ibrox Hall of Fame, but according to some, the Rangers skipper still needs to add more silverware to his CV to truly cement his place as a club legend.
The Englishman was inducted into the Hall of Fame back in February last year alongside Allan McGregor and Steven Davis and since then he has continued to add to his stunning record of goals and assists.
Tavernier has scored 117 goals and assisted 123 times during 435 games in Light Blue and his numbers are all the more remarkable given his position at right-back.
Another man who played on the right side of defence for Rangers was Alan Hutton and he also enjoyed a hugely successful stint in Govan.
The former Scotland international has been amazed by Tavernier’s statistics though, but he does feel the captain can sometimes go unappreciated.
He explained: “It’s mental. In my career I think I scored five goals, he’s scored 118 for Rangers. He gets criticised for his defending, I think it’s got better over the years.
“What he gives you going forward is incredible. Modern-day full-backs are going to get caught up the pitch because you are asking them to do something else.
“You are asking them to be an attacker. There are moments when you are going to be caught out.
“But I think he is a leader. He deals with a lot, I think there’s a lot of pressure on his shoulders from fans and outside noise and I think he’s dealt with it all really well.
“In some people’s eyes he will still go down as a legend. Others will have question marks over every player. Yes, he’ll be judged on his goals, but ultimately it’s about what you have won.
“You look at previous winners who’ve been there, Barry Ferguson and the likes. Look what they did and what they won.
“You will always be up against the likes of that so he will obviously want to add way more trophies.
“It’s been difficult in previous years, but now, with the manager they’ve brought in, that winning mentality is there.
“If they can add quality then I think they can do it. They are still on course to pick up more silverware this season.”
Hutton believes some Rangers fans will not realise the full impact of Tavernier until the day he exits Ibrox Stadium.
He continued: “It’s been documented that he’s been playing with niggles. He’s very robust, I can’t really remember him, other than when Nathan Patterson got his break, him being injured.
“He’s always available. He’s always front and centre, whether he’s getting criticised or not.
“What he’s done at Rangers, given everything he’s had to deal with, has been exceptional.
“Rangers at some point will have to look to the future and you probably don’t appreciate what you’ve got until it’s gone.
“So maybe two or three years down the line when someone else is in and you’re thinking, ‘he’s not giving us the goals, the penalties or the crosses into the box.’
“Then you realise you had a real gem there.”
With Tavernier and his fellow full-back Borna Barisic both in the advanced years of their Rangers career, the club will inevitably be looking to bring in new talent as they look ahead to the future.
Philippe Clement’s side have been linked with former Hibs youngster Josh Doig in recent weeks, who is now playing his football at Verona in Italy, and Hutton feels he would be a perfect capture if his former club could get a deal over the line.
“I think they are already looking to the future,” he said. “Look at Borna Barisic, again not getting any younger.
“Yilmaz was meant to be that guy. In recent weeks he’s played really well but I do think there’s improvement needed if he’s going to play week in, week out.
“That position is up in the air because there’s been talk of him moving on and Barisic is out of contract at the end of the season. They will have to look to bring someone in.
“For Gerrard, van Bronkhorst and for Beale it’s been Barisic and Tavernier bombing forward and putting crosses into the box.
“They were massive in terms of how Rangers played. If they played well, Rangers played well. But everything comes to an end and you’d be silly not to have plans in place.
“I saw Doig when he played for Hibs. A young prospect, lots of talent. There was room for improvement.
“He was that modern-day full-back who liked to get forward. He was strong, aggressive, a good size.
“I haven’t seen that much of him since he moved to Italy. If he’s improved on what he was at Hibs then obviously he’s going in the right direction.
“He ticks all the boxes to come into somewhere like Rangers because I think he’d be able to deal with it.
“Going to Italy will have improved the defensive side of his game, as an attacking full-back if you can add those attributes then you are going to get better.
“That’s an all-round full-back.”
Rangers will be fighting on all fronts when the club return to action following the winter break and with the League Cup trophy already in the Ibrox trophy cabinet confidence is high.
A Scottish Premiership title race and a Scottish Cup run are to come, but the club will also be fighting it out in the Europa League with a last-16 spot secured.
The club have enjoyed great success in the competition in recent years and Hutton believes this will play an important part in the latter stages in Europe this campaign.
He added: “It just seems they’ve got something special with this tournament. Obviously they made it to the final in 2022 and it was disappointing.
“But the experiences you gain as a group help you moving forward. There have been changes within the playing squad but I think they always feel confident, especially at Ibrox where the atmosphere is tremendous.
“Some of the performances have been outstanding. They will look at themselves as outsiders but they’ll also feel that with a little rub of the green they can do well.
“That’s why topping the group was massive. You avoid that knock-out phase. That can be a difficult match.
“To do what they did in Betis was amazing and that will have given them confidence in itself.
“That round is potential banana skin so to miss that out they will feel they can possibly do something.”
Alan Hutton was speaking at a Scottish Gas media event. Scottish Gas is the proud partner of the Scottish Cup.
