‘He makes it look easy’ - Kieran Dowell on the Rangers player he knows best

It says everything about the injury predicament to have befallen Tom Lawrence last season that even though Kieran Dowell has only recently arrived at Rangers, he has played more with the attacker than any other player at Ibrox.

Rangers' Tom Lawrence will take his comeback in his stride according to his Ibrox team-mate Kieran Dowell, who knows him well from their season together at Derby for the 2019-20 campaign. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

Dowell linked up with Lawrence when spending the 2019-20 season on loan at Derby. Precisely why he understands the excitement behind the scenes at the Govan club over the return of Lawrence following almost a year on the sidelines on the back of featuring in only nine competitive games subsequent to arriving as a free agent last summer. The 30-year-old’s appearance as a late substitute for Saturday’s 2-1 friendly win at home to Hamburg is leading to him being viewed by the recast squad – who will discover their opposition in Monday’s Champions League third qualifying round draw – effectively as an eighth fresh presence in the reshaped squad.

‘That’s the talk in the dressing room. That’s how we’ve been seeing it,” said Dowell, who pitched up in Glasgow subsequent to running down his contract at Norwich City. “He’s got a lot of quality and is a very versatile player who can play in a number of positions. I’ve worked with him before and he was a top player then. I’m sure he’ll get back to that. He’s a really exciting player, very direct, and he makes it look easy, really. That’s what I’ve always thought. He makes the game look easy but works really hard at the same time. He’s a really good player.

‘Obviously, he played a massive part in qualifying for the group stage of the Champions League last season, so he’s already proven to the Rangers supporters what he can do. I was delighted for him [to have come on against Hamburg]. I’ve not been at the club for too long but I’ve already seen how hard he’s been working to get fit and ready for the season. It was a really nice moment and I’m made up for him. He has a very good temperament as a lad. He’ll take it all in his stride. I don’t think he’ll get too ahead of himself if he’s not playing as well as he wants to play. He’ll just settle back in nicely.”