“Very likeable” — Former Rangers midfielder backs Cyriel Dessers against critics

By Monsurah Olatunji

Former Rangers midfielder Scott Arfield has come to the defense of Cyriel Dessers, likening him to legendary striker Alfredo Morelos following criticism from some fans, despite the Nigerian forward’s impressive hat-trick in Rangers’ 5-0 Scottish Cup win over Fraserburgh.

Dessers, who netted a hat-trick to help Rangers ease into the fifth round of the competition, was not without his critics during the match.

Despite the dominant performance by the Light Blues, Dessers missed a glaring opportunity early in the game, skewing an open goal attempt wide. He also could have completed his hat-trick earlier, but his cross-cum shot in the 74th minute found teammate Ross McCausland, who scored instead.

However, Dessers’ persistence paid off in the 90th minute when he squeezed in a goal from a tight angle to complete his hat-trick, after earlier hitting the post with a header.

Despite the trio of goals and an assist, Dessers still finds himself at the receiving end of some frustration from his supporters.

However, Arfield, who was on punditry duty with BBC, strongly backed the striker and drew comparisons to Morelos, a player he once played alongside at Ibrox.

“I think 25,000 in here love him and 25,000 don’t, but he comes across as very relatable, very likeable, and he looks like a good team-mate,” Arfield said.

He continued, “Any good striker that misses a chance, they don’t care. They’ve got this selfishness. He goes back for more and that’s what you want.”

Arfield also highlighted Dessers’ mental strength, comparing him to Morelos: “I played here with Alfredo Morelos and he genuinely didn’t care how bad he was in games.

“It was his greatest attribute because he just went back for more. I was a player that might have that wee level of, maybe, insecurity, but the best people haven’t got it. They’ve just got this absolute bulletproof mentality. And Dessers has a bit of that.”