Cyriel Dessers has issued a reminder to Rangers’ critics, insisting that the Scottish Premiership “is not lost or won” in the first month of the season, and believes the team’s best performances are still ahead.
The Ibrox striker reflected on the team’s progress under Philippe Clement since their 3-0 defeat to Celtic at Parkhead four weeks ago, acknowledging the lessons learned from that loss.
Despite sitting third in the league, five points behind rivals Celtic and Aberdeen after just six games, Dessers is confident that Rangers are on the right track.
A run of four consecutive wins without conceding a goal has helped restore belief among the squad, particularly ahead of their upcoming Europa League clash against French giants Lyon.
The recent 2-0 victory over Malmo in the same competition has also lifted spirits within the Rangers support. Speaking ahead of the Lyon match, Dessers emphasised the importance of staying focused and blocking out external criticism.
He said: “It’s good for me and I think for a few more experienced players. I don’t think it’s easy, but you have to do it. You have no choice. If you want to make a good season, you need to block it out and stay focused.
“The league is not lost or won in August. In the next months, we will need to keep winning games to be as close as possible. Also before the Celtic game, I think we had some really good performances. And then obviously, you want that one game to go different. But also, you cannot let one result distract you.
“Like I said, we are growing. The best is yet to come for us. And I think everybody can see that. We just have to stay focused on our own.”
Clement wasted no time addressing the September 1 derby defeat, holding a candid debrief with his players. Since then, Rangers have responded impressively with four wins and four clean sheets. Reflecting on the aftermath, Dessers noted the team’s improvement.
“You analyse the game, you see what we did wrong, you see what we did well. You try to learn from it, you train on it again,” he said.
“The league is a little bit different because a lot of teams play in a different way against us, but like in these European games, I think these are more similar to the Old Firm games.
“You can see that we made a step already since the end of August and we have to keep growing. Lyon will be a good test for us.”