Sport

Leon Balogun joins Rangers fans in Cyriel Dessers sing song as defender opens up on unseen chats with striker

Published

8 months ago

February 3, 2024

It’s only a few months since the mood music round Rangers was trudging along like a mournful lament as another campaign teetered towards failure.

But since Philippe Clement brought his Belgian beat to Glasgow, the Ibrox faithful are dancing to a much more optimistic rhythm. Of the new Gers gaffer’s many fine feats so far, getting a tune out of Cyriel Dessers might just be the most impressive of the lot. At one stage the Nigerian international was in danger of being written off as the poster boy of Michael Beale’s disastrous summer recruitment drive, a one-man symbol of everything that had gone wrong under the Londoner.

Now, however, he’s a player in almost perfect harmony with the supporters having rattled off nine goals in 18 games under Clement. They’ve even composed a new terrace chant to mark his return to form with their ‘Nice One Cyriel” ditty. Leon Balgoun found himself joining in with that chorus as the Rangers support rose to acclaim the born-again poacher after his winner sealed a crucial win over St Mirren last week.

And Dessers’ colleague for club and country is just pleased to see the striker and the Ibrox legions at last singing off the same hymn sheet. He said: “Having them sing his name is massive, especially if you feel how they were maybe a little bit on his back.

“Now they are pushing him forward and they have a song for him, which is great. I think he is going to embrace that and try to pay them back for that.”

Just as Dessers was playing his way back into the fans’ affections, there were reports in Italy suggesting he might be on his way out of Ibrox. The 29-year-old – who cost Beale £4.5million when he joined from Cremonese in the summer – was linked with a swift switch back to Serie A amid rumoured interest from Verona and Torino.

In the end, the hearsay proved unsubstantiated and Dessers is now the man who will be tasked with leading the Rangers attack in the second half of the season as they look to add to the Viaplay Cup they lifted in December. Undoubtedly, there is a good chunk of the Light Blues legions who for all Dessers’ recent improvements would still have preferred to see their team make a move for Lawrence Shankland before Thursday’s deadline.

But Balogun is confident Dessers’ can shoulder the goalscoring burden that is now bound to rest most heavily on his shoulders with Danilo and Kemar Roofe still out injured. “I’m very happy he’s still here because I remember what I told him about the club,” said the big defender. “I try to speak to him every now and then on the side to make him understand.

“I say, ‘Look, it is not always easy here, it can feel heated and like you’re carrying the world on your shoulders, but try to be yourself, dig in’. What people forget looking from the outside in is that this is not the easiest club to come in to and then take a little bit of time to adapt. But I think he has been adapting.

“Actually, today on the training pitch I spoke to big Connor Goldson. We said, ‘My God, what a different player he is now’.

“You can just see. I think he has adapted to the pressure. Maybe he does not feel as much pressure, we don’t know. But he definitely looks different in training just now.

“Like I say, it is not easy at this club because there is so much expectation.

“That is something I told him beforehand, that you need to be ready for it.

“But I think it is easy to underestimate it if you are not here. He is only here for, what, five months. He is getting it more and more, which you can see in his performances lately.

“He has ramped up his assists and goals, which is good for his confidence. As I say, you can see especially in training. I said to him today, ‘This is the Cyriel Dessers I know’.”

Dessers is now up to speed after a tough transition period. And Balogun hopes the Ibrox faithful bear that in mind as they welcome this month’s new recruits Fabio Silva, Mohamed Diomande and Oscar Cortes into action.

He said: “This is a conversation now that we are going into a bit deeper I think. If we speak about expectations, maybe even the sense of entitlement that is sometimes there from the outside to go after players and after managers.

“We are all just human as well, we are trying to run and we are running. We thought it was just the run of events and unfortunately it does not always run your way.

“That is sometimes when probably our side needs a bit more compassion and empathy. But at the same time if you look at a club of this size you also understand why it isn’t there. It is about finding the balance like with everything in life.”

Rangers have so far avoided a repeat of the post-winter break slip-ups that have blighted previous title tilts in recent years.

It’s three straight wins since returning from their warm-weather camp in La Manga after sidestepping a Scottish Cup banana skin at Dumbarton before notching up back-to-back Premierships wins over Hibs and St Mirren.

They now welcome Livingston as they begin a run of four straight home games. It’s a chance to pile the pressure on Celtic, who face a trio of testing trips at Aberdeen, Hibs and St Mirren.