We owe apologies to Rangers' headwrecker - although that could easily change next week

“In common with many other media organisations, we may have in the past given the impression that we thought…” This is the template for the classic ‘So-and-so: An Apology’ feature regularly employed by Private Eye to satirise the tendency for journalists to switch sides and opinions depending on the prevailing mood while also seeking to curry favour with individuals.

Whatever could they mean? It’s poppycock of course. For example, in common with all football writers and pundits, I’ve always considered Cyriel Dessers to be a striker worthy of wearing the Rangers No 9 shirt and at no time have I deemed him to be an imposter, a charlatan, a player more likely to get a manager the sack than help them win trophies. No, that definitely wasn’t me, no sirree.

But if I did somehow manage to convey that impression, I would like, in the style of Private Eye, to apologise for any confusion caused by such ambiguous earlier statements while stating for the record that Mr Dessers is a striker par excellence. He is more than worthy to follow in the distinguished footsteps of the likes of Ally McCoist, Derek Johnstone and Ralph Brand.

Cyriel Dessers celebrates his goal against Fenerbahce for Rangers. | PA

How many times are we going to have to flip our opinions when it comes to this enigmatic, likeable, infuriating, cool, nerveless, dithering, sometimes world class, sometimes amateurish-looking striker? It’s not just journalists and pundits. Rangers fans are contorting themselves into all sorts of shapes as they adopt different positions on Dessers. As one supporter on one forum described him: “Headwrecker”. He’s doing nobody’s credibility any favours.

It calls to mind that unforgettable line in Jim McLean’s autobiography Jousting with Giants in reference to goalkeeping legend Hamish McAlpine, who so often drove his Dundee United manager to distraction. “Hamish McAlpine was the one player who was able to destroy single-handedly everything I have ever thought or believed about the game of football,” McLean wrote.

Who knows what is going on with Dessers? Who exactly is he? He’s now 30 and while some are still finding it hard to categorise him, did the real Cyriel Dessers stand up on a high-octane night in Istanbul on Thursday?

“Today, Dessers looked like the best player in the world,” no less an authority than Jose Mourinho said to Turkish journalists after the forward produced perhaps his best display in a Rangers jersey against Fenerbahce. It came just weeks after he missed an open goal against Fraserburgh. He’s the absolute definition of a hot-and-cold striker, sometimes within the same game.

But where would Rangers be without him? At Ibrox, it takes more than just one player to get a manager sacked, as has recently been proved. Indeed, it could be argued that Dessers helped keep Clement in a job for longer than might otherwise have been the case with 18 goals prior to the Belgian’s eventual departure.

He has now struck 22 times this season, for Clement and Barry Ferguson. He has 45 goals in total for Rangers. He’ll likely hit 50 for the Ibrox club in under two seasons and not many do that.

Rangers recorded a memorable result in Istanbul. | AFP via Getty Images

He could well be there already – he was millimetres away from a famous hat-trick against Fenerbahce. It truly was one of the great Rangers ‘No 9’ performances in Europe. It was fitting that McCoist was in the commentary box for TNT Sports to rhapsodise about his excellent play, although he himself chuckled in the first half when noting that he might be given reason to revise his opinions in the second half.

That wasn’t necessary. Dessers was superb until being replaced by Hamza Igamane - remember him? – after 88 minutes. His less heralded part in Rangers’ third goal summed things up. Dessers took the ball in and played it off – he was doing this all night – to Nico Raskin, who in turn released Vaclav Cerny with a sumptuous through ball.

As for his movement and first-time hit assist for Cerny’s first goal, it might have been the pick of his contributions, including his one ‘legitimate’ goal.

I wrote earlier this season that he was one of the unluckiest strikers to ever play for Rangers, in contrast to McCoist, for example, who often seemed to benefit from balls landing at his feet or bouncing off him. Dessers was denied by a brilliant save from Dinamo Kyiv goalkeeper Georgiy Bushchan in a Champions League qualifier in August but also scored what should have proved a precious late equaliser, having played the pass earlier in the move that set Rangers on their way. He’s not just a striker although some claim he’s not even that.

Nevertheless, he’s winning over critics. As one pundit wrote in the Daily Record after that performance in the first leg against Dinamo Kyiv: “Is Dessers the finished article as a Rangers No. 9? No. Can Philippe Clement hang his hat on him as the first-choice striker for the rest of the season? I wouldn’t be so sure about that either.” The pundit’s name? Barry Ferguson. To be fair to the interim Rangers manager, it was a very positive piece about someone who he’s now very happy to hang his hat on, even preferring Dessers over Igamane.

Even Jose Mourinho was impressed by the striker's performance. | AFP via Getty Images

Scotland’s Player of the Year? You wouldn’t put it past him, although Celtic’s Daizen Maeda, someone else who was once considered a bit marmite, is the current front runner. Dessers will be there or there abouts when it comes to Rangers players of the year and who’d bet against him hitting 30 goals? He has at least ten matches left.

It’s helpful that Rangers aren’t playing this weekend having been knocked out of the Scottish Cup at the hands of Queen’s Park, when Dessers was one of those in the firing line. He can’t therefore make an instant mockery of all this praise by enduring one of ‘those’ afternoons. I do, however, reserve the right to change my mind on this subject as soon as the end of next week.