Nico Raskin has become Rangers’ midfield commander in the last few months. A young figurehead in the Ibrox dressing-room who is now taking on more responsibility.
He’s even been given the captain’s armband on the odd occasion. But the little Belgian has never been in any doubt who Gers’ main leader is. The guy he’ll always follow and look up to as long as he’s at the club. And on Thursday night against Union St-Gilloise, James Tavernier showed all the qualities you’d expect in a Rangers captain. As the club sensationally stormed into the last-16 of the Europa League with a 2-1 victory at Ibrox, their skipper was at the heart of everything. Playing out of position at centre-back didn’t faze him.
Not only did Tavernier still deliver one of his now trademark assists for Raskin’s opening goal at the other end he bailed out his keeper Jack Butland with a fantastic goal-saving clearance to deny USG an equaliser. The 33-year-old has had his fair share of flak from Rangers fans – and everyone else – in the past few years.
Most punters expected, and maybe even wanted, him to be sold off last summer.
But Raskin believes people have lost sight of just how valuable Tavernier is to Rangers. He says he’s a modern-day legend and Hall of Fame inductee for a reason. And while he’s enjoying taking on a more prominent role in Clement’s leadership group – he knows there’s only one head boy at Ibrox.
Raskin said: “Tav is a leader and example to us all. If you see him every day working, setting the standards high – it’s amazing. We all learn a lot from James and on Thursday he was outstanding. He had an assist and some great saves – but he’s a top player.
“As a team, we have never had any doubts about him. We see what he shows us every day on the training ground. Sometimes football has a short memory. Tav is a hall of famer at this club – and that means something. Tav is a real leader and it’s amazing to have him here helping us grow.”
At the end of the game in midweek, Clement’s team did a lap of honour and Raskin was pushed forward to take the acclaim of the supporters. Fans have a new song for their sitting midfielder that’s so catchy, the 23-year-old must be struggling to get it out of his head.
But it was a special moment for the former Standard Liege star. Injuries and then a lack of game time initially under countryman Clement was threatening to derail his Rangers career. But now, he’s a key player and relishing his new role. Raskin said: “After all the difficult moments I’ve had, I can’t thank the fans enough.
“I’m trying to give everything for them on the pitch. I’m still playing with some soreness but everybody is doing that for the team right now. We’re all trying to go over the limit and get the job done.
“Do I feel like more of a leader now? Yeah, my position on the pitch means I’m closer to the other players, so it’s good for me. If someone in front of me is doing their job correctly, it helps me also. So it’s normal now for me to try and pull them into a good position.”
Rangers defied the odds on Thursday night to beat USG and sneak into the top eight in the Europa League table. That took them straight into the last-16 and a knock-out tie against either Fenerbahce, Anderlecht, FC Twente or Bodo Glimt in March.
Raskin was delighted to contribute with a rare headed goal that resulted in a barrage of congratulatory messages from back home in Belgium. But Gers’ midfield general is now fully focused on today’s must-win Premiership clash with Ross County in Govan. Raskin said: “It’s a big achievement for us to reach the last-16. Not many were confident we could finish in the top eight but we put ourselves in a good position before the game against Union.
“We got the job done by getting the win. My phone was full of messages afterwards. I felt so proud, it was a top night. It’s great for the team and we can be proud of the achievement but we know it’s going to be a very different game against County. We have to try and take the same intensity into it and get the win. It’s going to be super-important for us to put on another good performance and carry this on now.”
If Rangers are to progress further in the Europa League, it feels like Clement has to be given funds to strengthen his squad this transfer window.
Thursday night showed how threadbare their pool of players is right now, especially with Kieran Dowell and Rabbi Matondo leaving the club. But Raskin says even if no-one is brought in before the deadline, they will soldier on with what they have.
He said: “It’s not my business – I just try to do it on the pitch. On Thursday, Ross McCausland came in at right-back and played great, Tav was at centre-back, Hamza Igamane at left wing. We’ve got the team to cope and go deep. We’ve shown it in the past and again on Thursday. I’m proud of these boys.”