The Rangers scapegoat who is clamping the doubters as Ibrox enigma refuses to be decoded amid transfer murmurs

Supporters celebrate Cyriel Dessers' goal in Berlin alongside their flags.Supporters celebrate Cyriel Dessers' goal in Berlin alongside their flags.
Supporters celebrate Cyriel Dessers' goal in Berlin alongside their flags. | SNS Group
The much-maligned Rangers frontman notched a last-gasp equaliser against Dynamo Kyiv to keep their Champions League dream alive

For all the criticism he receives, Cyriel Dessers led the line tirelessly once again for Rangers against Dynamo Kyiv and his stoppage-time equaliser makes them narrow favourites to progress in their Champions League qualifying tie.

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Yes, the Nigerian striker misses an abundance of chances, but he scores a fair few as well which leads me to question is he really as bad as supporters make him out to be?

Written off by large sections of the Ibrox fan base before he even kicked a ball, Dessers has used that as motivation and his composed front post finish in Lublin on Tuesday night was a reward for another industrious display. No one can ever question his character, work-rate and desire in a Light Blue jersey.

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The guy has shown a real mental toughness to deal with the amount of flack he has faced since walking through the door at Ibrox last summer. Dessers will be the first to admit he struggled during his first three or four months in Glasgow. There’s no getting away from that. He was woeful at times, straying offside far too often and looking short of fitness.

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He can best be described as a jar of marmite - you either love or dislike him. For some supporters, it seems they can’t shake how poor Dessers was at the start of his Gers career. But the truth is he’s been one of the most consistent names on the team sheet during a period of instability at the club amid an ongoing squad rebuild and temporary rehoming due to delayed construction works on the Copland Road stand.

It appears manager Philippe Clement has placed full trust in the 29-year-old, who has now scored 23 goals since moving from Italian Serie A outfit Cremonese in a deal worth £4.5million last July. Before his last-gasp strike against Dynamo Kyiv, Rangers would have been going into their Scottish Premiership clash with Motherwell this weekend under massive pressure.

As it is, they now head into that game with a platform to build on and brimming with a new found belief that they can complete the job and overcome their first European hurdle. Not for the first time, Dessers could easily have made the scoreline reflect even better on Rangers had he taken one or two other opportunities. He was unfortunate on one occasion in the second half after getting on the end of a Jefte cross only for the keeper to making a sensational diving save.

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Yet the much-maligned figure refuses to let his head drop and continues to plug away when things aren’t going his way. Amid increasing negative noise around the club, Dessers’ goal in Poland could prove to be a pivotal moment in Rangers' bid for Champions League qualification. A player who has taken plenty of criticism on the chin and never seems to back down, even with rumours that clubs abroad are wanting to prise him away from the noise of Glasgow.

Centre-forwards always need a certain degree of belief in themselves to apply that killer touch in front of goal and while Dessers will continue to perplex the vast majority of Rangers fans with his frustrating displays, his debut season was ultimately very productive. Remove top scorer James Tavernier’s goals and Dessers’ 22-goal tally was crucial in Clement’s side finishing as close as they did to Celtic in the end last term.

Only two Rangers strikers in the last 20 years - if you take away penalties converted - have scored more goals than Dessers last years. Alfredo Morelos and Kris Boyd. Dessers admitted post-match that it would be “nice to get more recognition” for his overall contribution to the team amid calls for Clement to identify an upgrade on the attacker before the end of the transfer window if he is to guide the club to a Premiership title.

However, the undoubted hero on this occasion is on a one-man on a mission as he aims to prove his doubters wrong this season. It certainly won’t be for the lack of trying...

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