Cyriel Dessers is flavour of the month again at Ibrox. But it’s only a few weeks since the Rangers support were turning their noses up at what the striker was serving up.
That’s the way this love-hate relationship seems to go, with Nigerian frontman’s standing with punters swinging from adulation to vilification almost on a game-by-game basis. Craig Moore’s experience with the Light Blue legions wasn’t quite as erratic as that but the Gers legend knows what it is like to find yourself in the firing line one minute and loved the next.
The retired Aussie international often found himself the fall guy at a time when superstars like Paul Gascoigne and Brian Laudrup could do no wrong in the eyes of the punters. Their impression of the Sydney-born utility man only changed when he was finally able to nail down a slot in his preferred role at centre-half. But he’d have never survived it that long without the bullet-proof belief in himself.
And he reckons it is a similar steely resolve that has allowed Dessers to keep his head while the fans are losing theirs. Oz told Record Sport: “He’s an instinctive striker. But when there’s a little bit too much time, then his success rate hasn’t been as high as he’d like.
“So that’s led to the supporter base getting on his back a little bit at times. However, I think he’s a really, really genuine player. He’s very honest.
“Good, bad or indifferent, he turns up and he gives it absolutely everything. So, as much as I’ve kind of seen the frustration he gives the fans, it’s certainly not through lack of desire, hunger or effort.
“And the thing I like about him is that mental strength. His ability to shrug off the poor moments and go again. We’ve all seen players with better profiles struggle at Ibrox who end up leaving the club with a whimper because they’ve not been able to shoulder the weight of the jersey.
“I know the guys in charge of recruitment at the club will be looking at all different kinds of metrics when they are looking at a player’s profile. But I think the biggest quality needed at this football club is character.
“Once you find people made of the right stuff, then then look for all the technicality areas and all that sort of stuff. But if you’re not a strong character, you can’t survive at this club.”
Moore survived the tough moments he went through as he was used to plug all manner of gaps in Walter Smith’s nine-in-a-row chasing outfit. And he went on to establish himself as a fans favourite and future club captain after finally being given his shot in the centre of defence under Dick Advocaat. His 13 major honours – including six league titles – earned him a place in the Ibrox hall of fame. But Moore remembers a time when things did look quite so promising.
He laughed: “I got slaughtered for about 15 months. It didn’t matter what I did mate, honestly. It was a real tough time for about 15 months. Not that I would ever use it as an excuse, but I was never playing in my main position, which was a central defender.
“I was always honoured to be able to put on the jersey. But for a period of time it didn’t seem like I was an option for the supporters.
“All you can do is try to show that resilience and mental toughness where you work hard every single day to try and continually improve, and try and shut out the noise. That means driving home from the game and you might have to literally turn the radio off. When you’re going to have breakfast in the morning, don’t look at the papers.
“Obviously It’s changed a little bit now from my time with social media as well. But you’ve got to protect yourself and make sure that you give yourself the strength and courage every day to go in and fight. Cyriel seems to be doing that.”
Blocking out the noise is easier said than done when you’re getting booed BEFORE you take to the field. But that was the treatment meted out to Dessers less than a month ago as he was jeered climbing off the bench against Aberdeen. But he was back in the punters’ affections again as he responded by netting against the Dons, following it up with a Fraserburgh hat-trick and stunning strikes at Old Trafford and Tannadice.
“I’m sure he’d love to be able to take more chances,” added Moore. “I think that’s certainly an area where he’ll continually try to improve upon.
“But one thing I’ve never ever questioned is his work ethic, his resilience. He tries, he’s very, very honest. I’ll take that all day in a player rather than having someone who chooses to point the finger at someone else or hide.
“Rangers is a tough environment. If you hide, you’ll be left to the side and you’ll be forgotten about, but he doesn’t do that.”
Dessers isn’t the first frontman to divide the Gers support. Moore had Ally McCoist for a team-mate at a point when the Scotland hitman was firmly established as an Ibrox icon. But he also had to overcome some dark moments, including a notorious 1985 Scottish Cup clash against Dundee when he was told where to go by furious fans in the Copland Road.
“Well, let’s be clear,” grinned Moore. “I’ve only ever known Coisty when he was referred to as Golden Balls! That’s because he was absolutely on fire all the time when I was a young lad breaking through at Rangers. But I know he had his challenges with the supporters prior to my time.
“Coisty was brilliant for myself and was definitely someone who had an iron-clad mentality. When I first came into the club, I’ll never forget what he told me. He said, ‘Listen son, to be a success at this football club, you need to have thick skin’. And he was bang on.”