‘I really rate him’ - Michael Beale insists John Souttar can prove his worth to Rangers fans as defender closes on injury return

Rangers boss Michael Beale insists John Souttar still has a big future at Ibrox - insisting he saw enough of the defender from his previous three year spell in Scotland to know he has a top player at his disposal.

The 26-year-old centre-half - back in full contact training today - is edging closer to ending his injury nightmare which has blighted the start of his Gers career, with a potential return date pencilled in later this month or early February.

The former Hearts and Dundee United ace lasted just 67 minutes on his Premiership debut for the club against Livingston on the opening day of the season back in July before a troublesome ankle issue flared up once again and required surgery.

Signed by previous boss Giovanni van Brockhorst in the summer at the end of his contract at Tynecastle, Souttar was midway through his rehab programme when Beale arrived in November.

Already written off by many supporters, Souttar will feel he has a major point to prove when he returns to action in the coming weeks. However, Englishman Beale reckons he won’t need to win him over, claiming the Scotland international has a vital role to play in his team.

He admitted: “He doesn’t have a point to prove to me. I really rate him. He will want to prove it to the fans and to his team-mates that he belongs here and he can go on and have a successful career. He’s similar to Tom Lawrence who had a strong start but then missed an awful lot of football.

“They are both working back and hopefully in January or February we can have both in the team, which would be lovely. John’s had a really rough few seasons with injury. He has played at a high level but hasn’t had a strong and consistent run. We feel his rehab coming back has been strong and that he’s got really solid foundations now.

“He’s a good player, he can step into midfield with the ball and is one I’d watched when I was here in my previous time, so I was delighted to inherit him. I would just like to work with him now.

“I spoke to him on the very first day I joined because he was a player we’d watched under the previous management and was one earmarked as coming to the end of his contract. We liked the way he played and when we are dominant in possession we felt we could showcase his talents even more in terms of bringing the ball into midfield and making passes. So he is aware that I like him.

“I like players who are fit and hungry, available all the time - that is probably the message to all the players; don’t be injured too long!”

There is light at the end of the tunnel now for Souttar and many of his Light Blues team mates and they aim to get their career back on track and Beale confessed he has been impressed with the attitude of his injured stars during their recovery process.

He added: “John looks strong. If anything we are trying to hold him back because he is pushing. I was really pleased to see him back in training. We took a little bit longer to get to the bottom of his issues and hopefully he can now stay fit. Even today on his first session back he showed his strengths.

“He is well liked within the group which, for someone who has come in and who hasn’t been able to play week in, week out, that is a good sign of his personality and character.

“Inside the building, John has been fantastic, very supportive of the team and so has (Filip) Helander but it is hard for them. They see their team mates going on to train and they are stuck inside and I could see in John’s eyes that he couldn’t wait to get out there and rejoin the group.

“I thought he would come to Rangers and kick on to the senior national team but injury has held him back. That is one for the future. If John can play consistently he will be a good player for Rangers and then onwards and upwards for the national team.

“It’s an interesting time when a new manager comes with new ideas and you want to be able to train to showcase what you have got. He’s one of the players that I had watched previously so for him there is even more of a need to get out and show what he can do.”