Cyriel Dessers points to his Rangers stats split as proof of turnaround as he gears up for Fabio Silva striker fight
The Nigeria attacker belives competition for places can only be a good thing for the Ibrox squad as they chase Premiership crown
Cyriel Dessers is up for the fight with Fabio Silva to be the main front man at Rangers.
And the Ibrox hitman reckons the scrap for the forward roles can fire the side towards a "beautiful" second half of the season. The Nigerian has notched nine goals this term – including a stunner against Real Betis to blast Philippe Clement's Light Blues into the Europa League last 16.
But the former Feyenoord attacker has still to win over some of the Ibrox doubters and has serious competition with the loan arrival of £33m Wolves man Silva. Dessers – who notched in Tuesday’s friendly draw with Copenhagen – reckons his form is on the up and he said: “It’s part of being at a top club like Rangers there will always be competition. It's only a good thing. I am not here for only myself, I am here for the team and I just want to win trophies here. I don't care who makes the goal or wins us the game.
“I just want to win and that's the important thing. Fabio is a good player and I hope he can help us a lot but I hope I can also do my thing of course. If you look at the split of my stats before the manager came and when he did I think it is a big difference.
"There is still growth left and I am working hard everyday to get better, in better shape and form and hopefully, we can help the team win a lot of games. We spoke about it but at this point, we don't need to talk about it every day. He knows what I can do, I know he sees my qualities and now I have to work hard and fight for the team.”
Gers boss Philippe Clement lifted the League Cup early in his reign but suffered his first Premiership setback in the Old Firm defeat before the winter break. The Ibrox men are still bang in the hunt for the title though with the Scottish Cup and Europa also up for grabs. Dessers is convinced the Light Blues are gearing up for a grandstand second half of the season.
He said: “That's it – the last two months have been very good for us. We won almost every game bar one and we need to keep this feeling going and keep growing. There's still a lot of growth left I think for our team and if we can achieve that then a lot of beautiful things are possible.”
Dessers is convinced Gers are in good shape after their sunshine break to Spain – where Clement got the chance to work with his squad around the clock. The striker insisted the shutdown came at a good time for the Light Blues after a gruelling December schedule fighting on three fronts.
Dessers – who is gearing up to face Dumbarton in the Scottish Cup on Saturday evening – said: “Obviously, you get closer and that's a good thing to get this new energy again to go for the second half of the season. It was definitely hard work but that's what we were there for and what we knew it would be.
“It was good to be with the team, obviously, we spent a lot of time together in all these European games as well but in a different setting. A little sun during the day. Work hard, being together, eating together, sleep and that's it.
“December was tough on the body obviously. I needed a couple of days to prepare and recover a little bit. Once you're in the rhythm it's actually ok and I think the players are used to it.
“Like the last few months if you win a lot of games and have these special nights like Seville or the League Cup Final you have an extra boost and the next day you don't feel it in your legs. During the season, especially last month, it's been game to game. Thursday, Sunday, Thursday, Sunday. Now we can work a little more on the details and I think that's the good thing. I hope we can show it immediately, starting on Saturday in the Scottish Cup.”