John Souttar felt the backing of Michael Beale before the manager had even seen him pull on a Rangers strip. Now the defender is determined to prove his boss right and show he’s fit to wear the jersey between now and the end of the season.
With a Scottish Cup semi final against Celtic just nine days’ away that means doing everything he can to keep his place in the starting XI when Connor Goldson returns from injury starting on Sunday against Aberdeen.
Souttar openly admits his start to life at Ibrox has been anything but comfortable. The 26-year-old’s big move from Hearts last summer took just 90 minutes to turn sour when, after his debut at Livingston on the opening day, he missed the next seven months with a fractured ankle.
By the time he was fit again in early March, Gio van Bronckhorst had been sacked and replaced by Beale meaning the club had had more managers in a season than he had had games.