Rangers striker Cyriel Dessers has embraced the competition within the squad, highlighting the importance of teamwork and support among the club’s forwards as they gear up for a challenging season across domestic and European competitions.
Despite a strong start to the season, with seven goals in nine appearances across all competitions, Dessers has yet to fully win over a portion of the Rangers fanbase.
In the lead-up to the Gers' Scottish League Cup quarter-final against Dundee, there were growing calls for manager Philippe Clement to bench the Nigeria international in favour of new signing Hamza Igamane.
The Belgian trainer dismissed the calls, standing by Dessers, who rewarded his faith by netting a brace in Rangers' commanding 3-0 victory over Dundee.
Dessers: competition among strikers drives us to excel
Speaking to the press after his brace against Dundee, Cyriel Dessers warmly embraced the competition among Rangers' strikers, recognising it as a crucial factor in the team's success.
“I think at a big club like Rangers there will always be competition. I think that's good, because we play 65 games in the season. Probably I will not play 65 games, all 90 minutes! So I think it's really good that Hamza and Dani are here,” Dessers said.
“I'm sure we will need them, and that they will be ready at that moment. You can see Hamza, he has something. When he comes in, he has something and I'm happy with that. I'm supporting him, he's supporting me.
“We're helping each other because we know that in a long season like you have at Rangers, you want to do well in the two cups, in the league and in Europe. You cannot do it alone as a striker. We will need all of our strikers this season, and hopefully we can score a lot of goals, all of us.”