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My first impression was a spoilt kid with too much money – Fabio Silva’s ex-coach on Rangers hero’s fiery Belgian loan
The pair were in touch when Silva made the move to Glasgow
FABIO SILVA didn’t lack self-confidence in a six-month loan spell at Anderlecht.
But his former boss Robin Veldman had no issue with that — because he knew the kid had the ability to back it up.
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The ex-Queen’s Park head coach has watched the Portuguese start to show the full range of that talent in a Rangers jersey.
And he expects his career to soar now, in Scotland and beyond.
Anderlecht took the attacker from Wolves on his 20th birthday in July 2022, just short of two years after the Black Country side paid a club-record £35million to land Silva from Porto.
And Dutchman Veldman, now back in his homeland after a brief stint in Glasgow, told SunSport: “Fabio brings character and energy to a game.
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“Outside of the pitch he can appear arrogant. You can see with his tattoos and how he looks and behaves, there is a cockiness.
“Fabio is confident in what he wants and how he sees things. He can come across as cocky.
"But it is from a good heart and I like him very much.
“My first impression of him at Anderlecht was he was a spoilt young kid with too much ambition, too young with too much money.
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“Wolves paid massive money and his wages for his age were insane.
“But he had a clear idea of what he wanted — and the fact Anderlecht weren’t doing well, they were 12th in the league, wasn’t making him happy.
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“Because it was a loan, Fabio felt he had to be playing for a team that was more dominant and far stronger.
“It is why he eventually made a switch halfway through that season to go to PSV in Holland.
“I stepped in as manager in October of that season and he was an important player for us.
“I felt I had to get to know him better and we would regularly have one-to-one discussions.
“As a striker, he was having limited chances to score.
"So it was for me to find a way for him to be more successful, to be happier.
“We changed in style to make him the main target man.
“I look at him now at Rangers and he is putting a lot of energy into receiving the ball in midfield and running a lot. But I only needed him in front of the goal.”
Silva has made 13 appearances for Gers, six of them from the bench, and scored four times, but appears to be loving life.
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Veldman added: “I had no issues with Fabio.
“He was a kid trying to find his way as a person and a footballer.
“There was a moment in a game against Antwerp when I took him off the pitch after 70 minutes — and he was furious.
“Fabio kicked out at a GPS responder, showing no respect to the performance staff members.
“We had a conversation and I told him he had to show more support and respect. But Fabio accepted it and we were fine.
“I was disappointed to see him leave for PSV, but I also understood his reason.
“When Fabio moved to Rangers we had some text conversations.
“I really hope he can be happy with such a big club.
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“I am confident Fabio has a big career ahead of him.”
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