Dessers to lead Rangers assault in derby at Celtic

Dessers to lead Rangers assault in derby at Celtic

Nigeria international, Cyriel Dessers has been much-maligned but Connor Goldson reckons he can have the last laugh.

Goldson knows the feeling of being an Old Firm matchwinner and has tipped Dessers to lead the assault against Celtic tomorrow, reports www.sportsunlimited.ng.

Goldson believes it can be the turn of Dessers in a must-win crunch.

The Nigeria striker is aiming to get off the derby mark in Glasgow having drawn two blanks since signing.

Dessers missed a golden opportunity at Celtic Park having also been snuffed out at Ibrox. However, the 29-year-old has still bagged 18 for the season and has responded superbly to the arrival of boss Philippe Clement by regularly delivering.

Dessers has had to deal with criticism at various stages of the campaign including the aftermath of his Parkhead mishap, but has kept pushing for goals and now has the chance to bag one at a huge time on Sunday.

Goldson heaped praise on the striker for proving the doubters wrong and said: “A million per cent. I think you have to give him massive credit for that because I have been here for a long time and I understand how hard it is when you go through bad times.

“For that to happen at the start of his Rangers career? I think a lot of people would have gone under. To be fair to him, he carried on working and working and he is getting goals now. Everyone is happy with him.”

Goldson put an arm around his colleague in the tough times as he explained: “Yeah, I did, I spoke to him. I have said it before, it is the best club in the world to play for when things go well, but it is the hardest club to play for when things don’t. We knew it would turn around at some point and, luckily, not only for him but for the whole team and all the new players, it did.”

Scoring against Celtic would cement Dessers in the hearts of the fans and Goldson continued: “Of course, but at the same time he just needs to keep doing it every single game.

“Like I have said before, at the end of the season he will be judged on his numbers. It won’t just be this game. He will be judged on how he has helped the team throughout the season and how many goals he has scored. Recently he has been doing that really well so hopefully that can continue.”

While Dessers is clocking up the numbers, Goldson is yet to get off the mark this term in scoring terms. However, he doesn’t need to be told how to strike against Celtic.

Goldson’s double in October 2020 saw Rangers win 2-0 at Parkhead as they made early steps towards winning the title in that season.