Alex Rae : Jermain Defoe deal big but Steven Davis can steal Rangers show

Jermain Defoe has undoubtedly been the headline act of Rangers' January transfer window activity so far but Alex Rae believes it is the man filling the lead supporting role who holds the key to success for Steven Gerrard's squad in the second half of the season.

Rangers re-signing of Steven Davis will be key to title bid, according to Alex Rae. Picture: Jordan Mansfield/Getty

The return to Ibrox of Steven Davis, who won eight major honours during his first spell at the club, has enthused Rae most of all as he assesses his former club’s chances of sustaining a credible threat to Celtic’s grip on the Premiership title and Scottish Cup over the next four months.

While striker Defoe is likely to hog the limelight, Rae reckons the presence of midfielder Davis addresses what was the biggest weakness in the Rangers set-up during the first half of the campaign.

“They needed an out and out leader in midfield who could pull the strings,” observed Rae. “It was something I felt Rangers lacked. They were a wee bit laboured at times in that area. Steven Davis is absolutely ideal for that role.

“Obviously Jermain Defoe is the marquee signing but, when you look at what Steven can bring in terms of his levels of performance, it’s a win-win situation.

From Rangers’ point of view, you hope he is up to speed after not playing regularly for Southampton this season. But he’s played around a dozen times for club and country, so it’s not as if he hasn’t been 
playing at all.

“I also think Rangers are getting a better player than the Steven Davis who left in 2012. No disrespect to Scottish football, but he has been playing at a better level in the Premier League. He’s a model of consistency so you know what you are going to get from him. He will be pulling people all over the place in that midfield area.

“If you go back to before Steven Gerrard got to Rangers, the standards at the club had dropped so much in terms of the level of player they were signing, But by bringing back guys like Allan McGregor, 
Kyle Lafferty and now Steven Davis, they know what is required to win things at Rangers. It raises the bar.

“Rangers have had bigger names in the past, the Laudrups and Gascoignes, but you couldn’t underestimate the importance of guys like John Brown and Ian Ferguson in those successful teams. Steven Davis comes into that category. He just goes about his business and cajoles other players to do better. If he can produce the kind of performance levels he has been for Southampton and Northern Ireland over the last few years, then he will be a tremendous signing for Rangers.”

Rae, himself a title winner with Rangers in 2005, admits he did not expect Gerrard to mount a serious challenge for the Premiership crown at his first attempt. Now he believes the Ibrox side have a “fighting chance” of upsetting the odds and dethroning Celtic in May.

“Even when Rangers were winning games in the first half of the season, Gerrard was still saying some performances weren’t good enough and they needed to do better,” 
added Rae.

“People were saying it was a massive gamble appointing him as manager but I always felt he would raise the bar.

“After they lost at Celtic Park in September, he said ‘judge us on 29 December’. That was a massive statement because he had to back it up. His team did that by beating Celtic at Ibrox. It has been impressive because I don’t think anyone would have foreseen it at the start of the season.

“At that stage, I felt second place was the best Rangers could hope for. But they are most certainly in with a fighting chance now. If they won it, it would be right up there with the most impressive things ever achieved at the club when you consider where Rangers have been in the last few years.

“Celtic are still the favourites and it’s important to keep it in context. They have a a run of home games after the break, which I think they will canter, while Rangers have tricky away games at Kilmarnock and Livingston. Celtic will come back refreshed, everyone will, and it makes for a fascinating second half of the season.”

l Alex Rae was speaking as he joined VPZ, the UK’s leading vaping specialist, to undertake a cigarette butt clean-up around Ibrox Stadium. Smokers are being invited to come into VPZ stores across the UK, dump their cigarettes, and get their 28-day starter kit to make 2019 the year they finally quit smoking for good.