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| Gareth McAuley (Credit: Rangers.co.uk) |
Rangers manager Steven Gerrard oversaw major squad changes upon his arrival during the summer, with a lot of players arriving Ibrox and some others leaving.
One arrival that completely went under the radar was Gareth McAuley’s.
The former West Bromwich Albion centre-back signed on a free for Rangers in September until the end of the 2018/19, but is yet to make his bow for manager Steven Gerrard’s side.
The 38-year-old is, however, getting closer to his Gers debut after captaining the reserve side to a 3-2 victory over Brentford B at Ibrox over the weekend.
McAuley put in an impressive shift in the middle of the defence alongside Nikola Katic, and Light Blues first-team coach Michael Beale reckons the veteran will play a huge role for Gerrard’s side going forward this season.
“Gareth is doing very well. he came to us after being unattached so he was doing some fitness of his own,” the former Liverpool Academy assistant manager told Belfast Telegraph.
“Everyone knows he is an outstanding professional and I’m pleased we have Gareth on board.
“He has a slight injury from international duty so that put him back a few weeks, but now he has played a couple of reserve games and there is another one this weekend, and from there I expect Gareth to be someone who has a big impact in our team moving forward.”
The Northern Irish defender spent seven seasons with West Brom in the English Premier League, but left at the end of the contract in the summer.
Without an iota of doubt, McAuley brings plenty of experience to the table, and he can be a role model for a lot of Rangers youth players and first-team players alike.
The Light Blue continue to impress in the Europa League having gone a record 11 games without defeat, but it has been a shaky domestic campaign for them.
Rangers failed to qualify for the Scottish League Cup final after a 1-0 loss to Aberdeen, while they are currently third in the Scottish Premiership behind Hearts and Celtic.
