Rangers leap to defence of John Souttar after ex-Hearts ace has debut to forget

Connor Goldson has leapt to the defence of John Souttar after the ex-Hearts star had a Rangers debut to forget.
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Souttar started alongside Goldson in the back four for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side on Saturday as they defeated Livingston 2-1 at the Tony Macaroni Arena.

While it would eventually prove to be a fruitful day for Rangers, individually Souttar struggled before being hooked on 67 minutes with his side still a goal down. James Sands took his place as the Ibrox club quickly overturned the deficit, going from 1-0 down to 2-1 up inside seven minutes as Scott Arfield and James Tavernier scored.

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It wasn’t the ideal start for Souttar, who signed a pre-contract with Rangers before moving from Tynecastle this summer. He’ll also have to fight off competition from £4 million signing Ben Davies to keep his place in the side once the ex-Liverpool defender is fully fit.

John Souttar, right, struggled with the physicality and movement of Livingston striker Joel Nouble in Saturday's match. Picture: SNSJohn Souttar, right, struggled with the physicality and movement of Livingston striker Joel Nouble in Saturday's match. Picture: SNS
John Souttar, right, struggled with the physicality and movement of Livingston striker Joel Nouble in Saturday's match. Picture: SNS

Goldson insists Souttar has already proven his worth to his new team-mates as he hit back at criticism of the Scottish international on social media.

"I've been really, really impressed by him from the first week," he said. "I was disappointed on Saturday because I saw a few things on the internet and things like that, people obviously talking bad just because he's had one game where he probably made a few mistakes.

"We've all been there, I've been written off plenty of times by Rangers fans but I see him every single day so I have no doubts at all he's going to be an unbelievable signing for this football club."

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