Cyriel Dessers responds to critics after Rangers goal vs Dundee

By Monsurah Olatunji

Nigeria star, Cyriel Dessers has responded to some of the criticisms he has faced since he moved from the Italian Serie A to Scottish giants Rangers.

The 28-year-old joined Rangers from Cremonese in August for a fee of about £4.3 million but has had a stuttering start to his career at Ibrox with supporters yet to take him to their hearts.

With just five goals in 19 appearances so far, Dessers has had touches jeered, shots ridiculed and moments on the pitch chastised.

However, the Ibrox striker insisted that he has looked far away from his critics and is beginning to find his feet and adapt to life in Glasgow.

“Some reactions even make me laugh,” as quoted by Football Scottish.

“First of all, I think many people underestimate what it is like to move to another country. And I also saw that even our captain James Tavernier had everything thrown at him.

“That man has already played more than 400 games for the club, scored more than 100 goals as a right back, and provided more than 100 assists. If even he is criticized.

“My stats this season are not bad, but I don’t think it is great either. Before the season I set a goal of 25 goal contributions, so I’m on target in that regard. But I have not yet reached my absolute top form. And that is something I work hard for every day.

“In terms of general level, the Belgian and Dutch competitions are also better than the Scottish, and of course, Serie A is a different level. But there are hardly any easy matches here. Many clubs play their match of the season against us. Opponents give their lives on the pitch, so to speak, not to let us score, so we always have to go very deep.

“We almost always play against teams with five defenders and another four midfielders in front of them. Just like in Italy, I usually go home after a match with scratches and blood on my body.

“It obviously wasn’t nice when the previous manager left because Michael Beale put a lot of effort into working with me. It is not the first time that something like this has happened to me.”

“At Genk, I had it with Hannes Wolf, at Utrecht with Erik ten Hag. So at such a moment you sometimes curse, because you don’t know who will take his place,” he continued.

“But with Philippe Clement, he really is a top manager. It’s not just me saying that, all the players say that. In the first week, he mainly observed, now he is implementing his vision step by step. He didn’t want to change everything at once.

“There has also not been much time for tactical training because we play so many matches. But after four games you can clearly see a difference. That’s what family and friends who watch my matches say.”