Dick Advocaat jumps to Calvin Bassey defence as former Rangers boss rubbishes call for Ajax to RELEASE him

Dick Advocaat has raced to the defence of Calvin Bassey amid calls for the former Rangers defender to be RELEASED by Ajax.

The Nigerian has struggled since swapping Glasgow for Amsterdam and his performance in their recent derby defeat to Feyenoord has come in for serious criticism. Ex-Dutch international Andy van der Meyde demanded they release him on a free transfer while Marco van Basten accused him of doing "everything in his power not to have the ball."

But those scathing verdicts have been shot down by former Rangers boss Advocaat, who came out of retirement for the fifth time last year to manage his home town club Den Haag at the age of 75. He was at pains to defend the ex-Ibrox hero, saying: "He was Rangers' best player last season.

"So you can't say he can't play football, but he really needs time. His manager John Heitinga has pointed out that to get the best out of him, you must have other defenders who can help him out if he loses the ball. He's a good defender first and foremost. Ajax didn't buy him for his football abilities."

Van der Meyde had said: "Maybe he is a lovely guy, but it's just not possible to have him as an Ajax player. You know what they have to do? Release him. Now.

"Yes, give him away. You can't do this at Ajax. It was completely amateurish that Ajax spent so much money on him."

And he was joined in his attack by Dutch legend Marco van Basten, who added to the barrage of criticism. He pointed out: "Bassey did everything in his power not to have the ball, he played it away as quickly as possible. He was completely lost. He didn’t know where to go."

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