How Steven Gerrard has reinvented Steven Davis - and the Rangers headache it gives him

Rangers Steven Davis and Scott Brown in action during a Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Rangers. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

After a smart and proactive summer of recruitment, Rangers look to be blessed with an embarrassment of riches in the centre of the park this season.

With the addition of South Africa international Bongani Zungu, Gerrard now has a number of senior options to choose from when it comes to packing out the three-man midfield that he so often prefers – Jack, Glen Kamara, Scott Arfield, Joe Aribo...and Davis.

For the majority of his career, Davis has, by and large, occupied a more advanced role, with a greater emphasis on his creative capabilities than his defensive traits. But since returning to Ibrox in January of last year, Gerrard has set about moulding the player into a more conservative, disruptive asset.

Steven Davis competes with Jeremie Frimpong in the Old Firm clash.

Given Davis’ age, that makes perfect sense. By placing less emphasis on getting forward, an ageing talent is able to save their legs, produce more quality in the engine room, and perhaps prolong his playing career by a year or two to boot.

On Saturday, Davis’ display against the Hoops felt like a culmination of that process. Once upon a time, we would have looked at a Steven Davis performance with no shots on goal, no successful dribbles, and just one successful pass into the final third as a disappointment.

Instead, what we actually got was a lesson in how to stifle an opposition and provide the foundation for a comfortable and largely dominant team display.

Davis won 10 of the 14 duels he contested at Parkhead – his second highest tally of the season to date, and almost 8% more than he does on average.

Steven Davis' duel map - he won 10 out of 14 at Parkhead.

A quick look at the distribution of those duels shows that all but two of them came on the halfway line or inside Rangers’ half.

Davis concentrated more of his efforts into battling the Bhoys on the edge of his own defensive third, and that point is hammered home by the fact that just one of his seven ball recoveries on Saturday came in the opposition half.

Such diligent defensive work then allowed Davis to assume possession in deeper areas more often, and to lay the groundwork for the Gers’ more advanced passages of play. Granted, his pass completion rate was his lowest of the season so far, but a closer look at his distribution map shows that when it came to short, simple interplay just in front of the back four, Davis was practically flawless.

It may not be eye-catching work, but it’s the kind of selfless commitment to Gerrard’s vision that was always likely to go over well with the boss and fans alike.

Steven davis' ball recovery against Celtic.

Going into the weekend, it would have been almost unthinkable that Jack could be facing a spell out of the side, but Davis went ahead and put in a big display on the biggest of stages.

Now, with the Northern Irishman looking impressive and the level of competition in his squad already at an unprecedented high, Gerrard surely faces a tricky, if somewhat welcome, selection headache.