Rangers manager Mark Warburton feels that James Tavernier has not reached the levels required recently, which was why he was dropped for the visit of Aberdeen last weekend.
Tavernier, nicknamed the "Blue Cafu" by Rangers fans, has been a fixture for the club since joining in the summer of 2015. He won plaudits for his performances last term as he helped Rangers win promotion from the Scottish Championship.
But Tavernier has found life in the Premiership harder and now has competition in the form of summer signing Lee Hodson, a player Warburton believes has done well.
"Tav has been an automatic choice for 18 months and he didn't have the competition last season", Warburton said at a press conference.
"All credit to Lee, who is very talented", Warburton continued.
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The Rangers boss insists that Tavernier remains very much part of his plans going forward, but explained that the right-back has to recognise when he has not met expectations..
"Tav has a huge future, but sometimes you have to recognise you haven't hit the level."
It remains to be seen whether Warburton will hand Tavernier a recall this coming weekend when Hearts arrive at Ibrox for a Premiership fixture.
Hodson however will be hoping his performance in the 2-1 win over Aberdeen is enough to see him keep the shirt.
