Cyriel Dessers insists being slaughtered on social media makes him laugh because even his Rangers captain James Tavernier also gets abused.
And he reckons new boss Philippe Clement has already made a difference to the Ibrox side.
Dessers netted his fifth goal of the season in Rangers’ 5-0 romp at Dundee during the week and has three assists to his name too.
But he’s had to suffer his fair share of criticism from fans with Rangers’ poor start to the season costing the man who signed him his job when Michael Beale was axed.
However, he’s shrugged off the noise and accepted he could do better in his bruising encounters so far.
Dessers said: “Some reactions even make me laugh. First of all, I think many people underestimate what it is like to move to another country. And I also saw that even our captain James Tavernier had everything thrown at him. That man has already played more than 400 games for the club, scored more than 100 goals as a right back and provided more than 100 assists. If even he is criticised.
“My stats this season are not bad, but I don’t think it is great either. Before the season I set a goal of 25 goal contributions, so I’m on target in that regard.
“But I have not yet reached my absolute top form. And that is something I work hard for every day.
“In terms of general level, the Belgian and Dutch competitions are also better than the Scottish and of course Serie A is a different level.
“But there are hardly any easy matches here. Many clubs play their match of the season against us. Opponents give their lives on the pitch, so to speak, not to let us score, so we always have to go very deep.
“We almost always play against teams with five defenders and another four midfielders in front of them. Just like in Italy, I usually go home after a match with scratches and blood on my body.
“It obviously wasn’t nice when the previous manager left because Michael Beale put a lot of effort into working with me.
“It is not the first time that something like this has happened to me. At Genk, I had it with Hannes Wolf, at Utrecht with Erik ten Hag. So at such a moment you sometimes curse, because you don’t know who will take his place.
“But with Philippe Clement, he really is a top manager. It’s not just me saying that, all the players say that.
“In the first week, he mainly observed, now he is implementing his vision step by step. He didn’t want to change everything at once. There has also not been much time for tactical training because we play so many matches. But after four games you can clearly see a difference. That’s what family and friends who watch my matches say.”
And Dessers, in an interview in Belgium, explained he’s not been able to take a break since his arrival including an Old Firm showdown defeat. And he can’t believe how big Rangers are.
