Tavernier Proud To Receive POTM Award

JAMES TAVERNIER has thanked the Rangers management and coaching staff as well as his teammates after it was announced today that he is the Scottish Premiership's Player of the Month for November.

The athletic right-back has been in sensational form this term, scoring 15 goals in his 24 appearances while providing a constant flow of assists.

Last night he again found the net with a coolly-taken penalty which helped the Light Blues record a 3-2 victory over Standard Liege at Ibrox, a result which secured qualification for the Europa League Round of 32.

Speaking to the Scottish press ahead of Sunday's league fixture with Ross County in Dingwall, Tavernier was understandably upbeat as he discussed his own performances and the numbers he is producing.

He said: "I've got great people around me. I've got the gaffer and Gary Mac who were top professionals and I'm just learning from everybody. There are loads of leaders in that dressing room that help me on a daily basis.

"I'm delighted to receive [the award] but there are plenty of players in that dressing room that could easily have picked this up. We've been terrific yet again and there are no faults that I can say about the team.

"We're performing really well at the minute; the only downside you could probably look at is we drew twice with Benfica and before when you looked at the group you would have taken two draws."

Tavernier believes the hard work put in during pre-season was vitally important to Rangers and this is one of the reasons the players have managed to put together a hugely impressive 24-game unbeaten run so far in 2020/21.

He said: "We work extremely hard during pre-season with the fitness coaches and the running and the ball work that we have to do.

"We are a very fit team and we are always getting tests to see our fitness throughout the season, so that we can perform at the highest levels when we are playing against every opponent.

"When you are playing in Europe, and especially against Benfica, they came alight in the last 10 minutes of the games, popping up with goals, and that's where you need to dig deep into the energy levels and try to be fully concentrated. We probably weren't on those two occasions because we did concede.

"But that there is a learning curve because the last 10 minutes is always such a crucial part of a game. So last night against Standard Liege we finished the game so strong and you could see how much Kemar was running last night.

"He ran himself into the ground for the team and we all noticed that and that's what we love to see. We've got great energy levels and we just want to always keep on pushing each other on."

So how many goals can Tavernier score this season? He said: "As soon as you keep knocking the goals in and you start reaching up to those numbers, you start to think 'what can I get?' But it's one of those, as long as I'm contributing to the team and we're winning games, I'm all for it.

"I'm not setting myself that target [of 30]. I've said maybe 20 I would set myself and I would be happy with. Like I said I'm just happy if I'm contributing, although I'm wanting more assists. I really want to keep racking that up, but we are in a great place at the minute and I'm really enjoying my football.

"We know it will be a tough game this weekend. Ross County will be full of confidence but we treat every single game like a cup final.

"We know it's going to be tough but we are going to go up there with a game plan. We have got to give them the respect they are due and we've got to put in a performance if we are going to come back down the road with three points."