Connor Goldson sees sees a big improvement in Rangers’ defence

Connor Goldson, now regarded as Rangers No 1 defender, celebrates his goal at Perth on Sunday. Picture: PA.

Whether it is Niko Katic or current pick Filip Helander beside him, Goldson appears to be Gerrard’s preferred choice in the middle of defence, something the former Brighton & Hove Albion player views as a “massive compliment”.

The Rangers manager has opted for Helander over Katic in the last two games and he might see no reason to change this ahead of tomorrow’s Betfred Cup last eight tie at Livingston after two successive clean sheets against Feyenoord and St Johnstone.

“We’ve got a better squad this season,” noted Goldson. “I think the gaffer has improved us. I think there is a real spine to the team and a resilience that we maybe didn’t have as much last season.

“I think we can play both sides of the game now. I think we can force teams into low blocks and we can defend when we have to as we showed against Feyenoord last week.

“We have maybe not had as many clean sheets as we would have liked but we’re still showing we are strong defensively. Then further up the pitch we’ve got a lot of talent.”

A double by Jermain Defoe and goal by fellow striker Alfredo Morelos which helped earn a 4-0 win at St Johnstone on Sunday proves the potency of Rangers’ attack. Goldson himself weighed in with the other goal.

But it is at the other end of the park where he knows he will be judged. Two clean sheets in a row suggests Goldson is forming a useful partnership with summer signing Helander, who appears to have displaced Katic for the time being. The Swede’s performance in last week’s 1-0 win over Feyenoord drew rave reviews and Goldson has joined those praising the player. He enjoyed talking him through such a challenging occasion and it seems that however much some Rangers fans want Katic to return to the team, Goldson and Helander have possession of the central defensive jerseys for the time being. Katic was an unused substitute against Feyenoord and was not even on the bench in Perth  on Sunday.

Last week’s performance against a very talented Dutch side proved Gerrard can rely on Goldson and Helander on a high-octane occasion. It was a significant night for the pair.

“We did really well last week against Feyenoord who are a good side and showed that over the 90 minutes,” said Goldson. “The reason we are here is to test ourselves in the Europa League against big teams and I felt we showed that. We really should have been at least three up at half-time when you consider Tav (James Tavernier) missed a penalty, I missed with a header and Sheyi (Ojo) had one cleared off the line.

“I thought we showed our other side in the second half when we defended well.

“It was Filip’s first big test and I thought he did really well. I spoke to him the whole game and he handled it so well. It’s been tough for him because Niko had been doing so well. But he (Helander) came in against Feyenoord and showed what he can do in a tough atmosphere.”

It was still reasonably early in his Rangers career when Goldson experienced what stands as his worst moment at Ibrox.

A mere 90 minutes away from making a cup final at the first attempt in Scotland, he was a member of the Rangers side that lost 1-0 to Aberdeen at Hampden Park in the semi-final of the Betfred Cup last season. He is desperate to avoid any slip-up tomorrow on the Astroturf at Livingston – another reminder of how things did not go Rangers’ way in the early part of last season.

It was where Gerrard suffered his first away league defeat as Rangers manager. They return tomorrow in a positive frame of mind and Goldson is determined to exorcise that memory while also maintaining the Ibrox side’s hopes of winning a first major domestic trophy since 2011.

“The biggest disappointment for me last season was failing in the two cups – especially in the League Cup semi,” he said. “We dominated that game but lost 1-0 so it was an emotional changing room. That one really hurt for  a long time.”