Our Blast from the Past strand recalls a Rangers hero from 2004 who they’d love to call upon in the present day.
Philippe Clement has enjoyed a wonderful start to life as manager of Glasgow Rangers, winning 20 of his 24 matches in all competitions since taking over in mid-October.
The only defeat the Light Blues suffered was against Celtic during the second Old Firm clash of the season towards the end of 2023.
The Belgian manager has dragged the Ibrox side back into a Premiership title challenge, all while dealing with several injury problems that threatened to ruin the season just prior to Christmas.
Eight players were ruled out injured for the clash against Motherwell on Christmas Eve, and it is testament to his managerial ability that the Light Blues pulled through the festive period.
The 49-year-old coach was hit hardest to his attacking options, as Danilo suffered a long-term injury against Hearts, while Kemar Roofe had to be withdrawn just 15 minutes into the game against St Johnstone due to yet another knock.
Despite Clement bringing in Fabio Silva during the January transfer market to ease his centre-forward woes, will he and Cyriel Dessers have enough in them to fire Rangers to the league title?
Cyriel Dessers’ season in numbers
Dessers joined the Gers last summer for a transfer fee in the region of £4.5m, but he certainly hasn’t justified such a lavish amount, putting in a series of questionable performances.
The Nigerian striker may have 12 goals and seven assists in 35 matches for the club – a decent, but unspectacular record – yet this shouldn’t be taken as proof that he has impressed during his spell in Glasgow.
The former Feyenoord hitman spends large periods of the match often isolated, failing to link up well with those around him, and this means he can go games barely having a touch of the ball.
When he does get presented with chances, the striker occasionally takes two or three opportunities before finding the back of the net and this season in the Premiership, the 29-year-old has missed 13 big chances in 21 matches, ranking him first out of everyone in the Scottish top flight.
Silva, on the other hand, has impressed every time Clement has given him a chance, and he netted his second goal for the club against Ayr United over the weekend.
The youngster tends to drop deep often and drifts out wide occasionally to help the team, proving that he may not be the out-and-out striker the club desperately requires.
Can you imagine then, if Clement was able to call upon the services of a former Rangers forward who combined Silva’s ability to work hard out of possession and link up well with others, along with Dessers’ eye for goal?
Dado Prso would thrive in the current Light Blues side under the former AS Monaco manager, and he’d be an absolute menace to Premiership defences all over Scotland.
Dado Prso’s Rangers statistics
Despite only remaining at Ibrox for three full seasons, Prso’s legacy lives on, and he is still discussed to this day among the Gers faithful.
The Croatian centre-forward played just 124 matches for the Light Blues during his spell in Scotland, but his mere presence in the starting XI often gave the club a major lift during matches, and he was key during the 2004/05 season under Alex McLeish.
The striker scored 17 top-flight goals in 34 games that term as Rangers secured the title on the final day of the campaign, enjoying a remarkable turnaround from being dead and buried as they trailed Celtic by five points with five games left.
The 1-0 win over Hibs is often referred to as ‘helicopter Sunday’ and the ‘little and large’ duo of Prso and Nacho Novo was often too much for opposition defences throughout the campaign.
McLeish had plenty of admiration for the striker and lauded him just a few years ago, saying:
“Dado was awesome, just awesome and I’ve kept in touch with him over the years. He is just a wonderful human being. When we went up to Aberdeen and won during the Helicopter Sunday year, big Dado played in the Pittodrie wind and rain like an absolute trojan.
“He gave their defence water in the head on that particular day. All the guys would run through brick walls for us but Dado was just infectious.”
Wonderful praise for a wonderful player, and it is clear he is still held in such high esteem by the former Gers boss.
| Cyriel Dessers statistics for Rangers | Europa League | Premiership |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | 1 | 8 |
| Assists | 1 | 2 |
| Big chances missed | 0 | 13 |
| Shots on target per game | 0.2 | 1.3 |
| Successful dribbles per game | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Via Sofascore | ||
Clement will be hoping that Silva and Dessers can be enough to fire the Light Blues to a title which seemed unimaginable just a few months ago, but the duo will both have to increase their goal output in the coming weeks.
Even more pressure is on them with Abdallah Sima and Danilo ruled out by injury for the foreseeable future.
If only the manager could bring back a peak Prso to lead the line for the club as they embark on a hectic schedule between now and May, with the Croatian spearheading the charge for further glory.
It would be a wonderful sight to see him at his best back at Ibrox, playing alongside the likes of Todd Cantwell and Ross McCausland. Alas, the supporters can only dream.
