Former Rangers star Lee McCulloch feels the leaders in the dressing room at Ibrox have helped James Tavernier in his first season as captain.
Tavernier, who joined Rangers from Wigan Athletic in 2015, was handed the captain’s armband by Gerrard after he took over at Ibrox last summer.
The 28-year-old has been a star performer since then and has directly contributed to 32 goals in all competitions so far this season.
However, the Gers captain has come in for criticism from some quarters after his error led to the winning goal that allowed Celtic to beat Rangers 2-1 in the Old Firm derby on Sunday.
Despite the criticism aimed at Tavernier, McCulloch feels the full-back enjoyed one of his better Old Firm performances on Sunday against Celtic at Parkhead.
The former Ger also believes the leaders in the dressing room at Rangers are helping Tavernier as a captain and insisted he does not feel the skipper has let down his manager or team-mates so far this term.
“That criticism has been directed at James Tavernier again after the Celtic game but I thought he played well at Parkhead and it was probably one of his better Old Firm performances”, McCulloch wrote in his column for the Evening Times.
“I know he made the mistake for the winner and he will be gutted at that.
“But he has been really steady this season, he has a good goal return and Steven Gerrard must trust him if he leads the team out every week.
“Guys like Allan McGregor and Steven Davis will be a big help and there are leaders in that dressing room to help Tav as captain. I don’t think he has let his manager down.”
Tavernier, who is under contract at Rangers until 2022, has notched up 51 appearances in all competitions so far this season.
