Rangers have indeed failed to construct a monumental challenge to their arch rivals, Celtic, in the Ladbrokes Premiership after getting promoted back to the top tier of Scottish football. While Brendan Rodgers’ men are running away with the league silverware and are placed at the summit of the chart with 83 points from 29 games, the Gers are as many as 33 points behind them on third.
Mark Warburton might have left the Ibrox Stadium in a pretty diabolical circumstance but he has Rangers’ prolific right-back, James Tavernier, on his radar. Warburton has always been a vocal admirer of Tavernier and it is reported that he wants to lure him to his new club, Nottingham Forest. The Tricky Trees are breathing helplessly at the lower end of the Sky Bet Championship table and the 54-year-old manager would be aiming to solidify his backline in the summer.
However, the Scottish giants are now under the tutelage of Pedro Caixinha who has put his feet into the baptism of fire and have kicked off his tenure at the Ibrox Stadium in a fruitful manner, registering a 4-0 win over Hamilton Academical. Despite the paramount need to strike gold in the summer with shrewd transfer deals, holding on to key players like Tavernier would also be very crucial.
The Englishman has played 28 games for the Light Blues this season and has been an irreplaceable element in their starting line-up. He has been prolific in going forward and his relentless toil up and down the flanks has earned him a notable repute on the Scottish soil. He scores goals, creates chances, pulls off spectacular crosses into the box and hardly puts a foot wrong whilst going forward.
Moreover, he keeps a shrewd balance among his attacking and defensive endeavours and no wonder why his stocks have risen rapidly this term. His displays have been subject to a lot of appreciation from the Rangers’ faithful, implying that the fans would create a virtual riot if the club succumbs to the temptations to sell him at the end of the season.
The reconstruction strategy would be a humungous one for Caixinha and the former Wigan Athletic player should unarguably be made to stay at least for the next season. His work-ethic, leadership qualities and sheer attacking ruthlessness from the back do give the Teddy Bears a cutting edge and they just cannot afford to lose him for Nottingham Forest, or any other club for that matter.
