Cyriel Dessers' major Rangers flaw frustrates the hell out of Kris Boyd

Kris Boydwas a striker who lived and breathed for finding the net. But as far as the Rangers legend is concerned, poachers like him are a dying breed.

Too many frontmen these days, he reckons, are more interested in tying up centre-backs than tallying up goals. And that goes for the man who has inherited the No9 jersey he once wore at Ibrox. Cyriel Dessers now has 19 for the season after Sunday’s Hampden double against Hearts - a figure Boyd can’t deny is a reasonable return, especially for a striker who faced the indignity of being branded a flop before he’d even had the chance to unpacked his bags following his £4.5million move from Italy last summer.

But the SPFL’s record-setting marksman can’t help but think Dessers would have a lot more if he had shown even a flicker of the burning desire for goals he once possessed. The Sky Sports pundit said: “For me, there’s a shortage of goalscorers worldwide.

“When you dissect the death of the striker, it’s scary. It used to be that strikers were obsessed by goals. That was all that matters. I don’t see that that fazes a lot of strikers now, they’re more focused on doing what Cyriel Dessers does - occupying centre-backs and being a nuisance.

“I don’t see that obsession for scoring goals the way strikers of the past were, but I don’t see that in world football anymore because the game’s changed. Nineteen goals is a decent return but what could it have been?

“Is that figure acceptable for an Old Firm striker? Yeah it is… it’s a difficult one because in a way you can say he’s scoring goals. But then every time you leave a match, every time you pick up a paper or tune into a radio station, all the talk is about the chances he’s missed. We’re all guilty of it.

“He’s scored two goals that has taken Rangers to a cup final, he’s scored important goals already. But I’m going to contradict myself now because you just feel he should have had more. I get that you can’t score every opportunity but these are glaring misses we’re talking about. Big misses.

“I don’t look at Dessers and view him as an out-and-out finisher. But he does have his strengths. He’s grown on me from when he first came in. People say it takes time to settle at the Old Firm - but you don’t get time, especially when you’re trying to derail Celtic at the top of the table.”

It’s the enigmatic factor that frustrates Boyd, the fact Dessers seems every bit as likely to tuck away a tricky opportunity as he is to fluff his lines with the goal gaping. The chance he missed in Dingwall as Rangers undid all the hard work that edged them back into the title race is a case in point.

It certainly appeared easier to finish than the one he buried past Craig Gordon in Sunday’s Scottish Cup semi-final win. But when he choked four yards out, it set in motion a chain of events that now leave Gers title hopes hanging by a thread heading into the final five games of the campaign.

“You go back to Ross County especially, Cyriel Dessers has a chance right on half-time which would have put the game to bed if it had gone in,” said Boyd. I get the chance you can’t score every opportunity you get - but in the context of that game it was a huge miss.

“All of a sudden the second half unraveled and the criticism was flying about. I get it. I’ve been there. I understand it. But I feel that at the top end of the pitch Rangers need to do more to give their own defenders the best opportunity not to make mistakes. Go speak to Philippe Clement and he’ll say it takes a whole team performance and the team has to take responsibility for losing goals.

“That’s the big thing since Clement has come in, it’s been a collective effort to get Rangers back into the title race, that won them the League Cup and has now got them to a Scottish Cup Final. So it can’t be all that bad but the more important the games become, the more they have to improve in certain areas.

“Listen, Rangers and Celtic strikers should be scoring 20-25 goals a season with the chances they get. There is a lot to like about Dessers’ game. He gives 100 per cent effort. I wasn’t the best in that lone striker role so I can’t criticise that. People say he can be doing better with this and better with that, but he does put in a shift for the team.

“But again you go back to - and no-one will change my opinion - the most important thing if you’re wearing that Rangers No 9 jersey is scoring goals. It’s as if he’s HOPING to score goals - rather than believing it.

“The numbers are decent but he should have a lot more. You could point to anybody’s season and say that - Erling Haaland last year got 50-odd goals and people will say he could’ve had 70.

“The only two you can’t really criticise for that are Ronaldo and Messi and we’re nowhere near that. Everybody’s going to miss opportunities but you’ve got to be prepared to miss them, not let it faze you, keep going back, and take the next one. But it just seems to be that when you don’t expect him to score he does and when you do expect him to score, he doesn’t.”

Dessers insisted he’s hungry for more after sinking the Jambos to set up a final showdown with Celtic on May 25. But Boyd isn’t convinced he’s got the appetite for the big occasion.

He said: “I don’t see anything changing. He might score a goal or two at the weekend but miss three or four chances. That wouldn’t surprise me. That’s what you’ve got. Without being disrespectful to him, that’s why he is where he is.”

Kris Boyd was speaking at The Kris Boyd Charity Golf Day at Trump Turnberry. Kris has been raising awareness of Mental Health and funds to help people in need for seven years.