'Rangers fans have turned on him' - Pundit view: Clement could now axe 'Dreadful' Ibrox star

James Tavernier’s position in the Rangers side is now under major threat after he struggled and was substituted against Lyon, says Tam McManus.

Speaking on PLZ Soccer on 4 October the former Hibs forward insisted the captain will struggle to keep his place in the side after a “dreadful” outing in the 4-1 Europa League defeat the night before.

Loan signing Neraysho Kasanwirjo replaced the 32-year-old in the second half at Ibrox and Dujon Sterling is also available to take over, which McManus believes could be now as the fans have turned on the skipper.

He said (5m 30s): “Tavernier getting taken off was another one for me. His position, for me, is really under pressure now.

“The Rangers fans have turned on him, he was dreadful. The final goal came right across the box and he was done at the back post again.

“I think you’ll see that Tavernier’s position at Rangers is really under pressure. He’s got two decent players come in pushing him for that place now.”

Dujon Sterling and Neraysho Kasanwirjo push for Rangers place

Rightly or wrongly Tavernier has long been a polarising figure as the face of a Gers side that has underperformed in recent years.

Much of that isn’t the right-back’s fault, and there is a strong argument to say that previous seasons would have been all the more dire without his contributions.

But it is impossible to deny that his production has dropped off a cliff recently and it is probably doing him more harm than good for Philippe Clement to keep trotting him out in the starting XI, let alone the team.

Whatever is behind his loss of form it looks clear now that he isn’t going be able to play his way back to his best so a change, even temporarily would make a lot of sense.

It may have been advisable to do it for one of the previous games after some calm was restored by four-straight wins, but that opportunity has been missed and with Kasanwirjo impressing in his debut at Malmo on the left (26 September) and Sterling handed a contract extension despite his own struggles to get into the side the situation feels like it is coming to a head.

Whatever the reasoning behind Tavernier’s presumed transfer exit this summer not happening it is panning out positively for him, his manager or the club.

And while a hurried exit via the backdoor in the wake of the loss to Celtic wouldn’t have been a fitting end to his Rangers career it is equally a mistake for him to remain in the XI when his performances don’t justify it.

He can certainly claim to have a far greater justification than some other players that Clement has been bizarrely taken by this season, such as Scott Wright and Kieran Dowell, but the situation clearly isn’t improving.

So a rest, at least, and potentially a few games out of the spotlight look necessary for a player who it has been speculated would rather not be the captain any longer [Kevin Thomson, 23 September].

In other Rangers news, multiple more contract talks are in progress at Ibrox with another announcement on the way.

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The post 'Rangers fans have turned on him' - Pundit view: Clement could now axe 'Dreadful' Ibrox star appeared first on Ibrox News.