We've been speaking exclusively to Connor Goldson live from La Manga, the base of Rangers' warm-weather winter training camp.
And you can watch or read everything the Rangers vice-captain had to say for free!
Goldson discussed a "rollercoaster" season so far, playing with Jack Butland and his ability to provide big moments, how he switches off away from football, why the club have long required a manager like Philippe Clement, Fabio Silva's "infectious" start to life at the club and his ambitions for the rest of the season.
Read every word Goldson had to say below or watch the interview in the player.
How are you and did you get a break after a busy winter period?
I'm good. It has been nice to have a break. I was ill for all of it, so it wasn’t great, after the Kilmarnock game. I was ill the whole week so it wasn’t great. But we got to go home and spend time with the kids so it was fine.
Are you able to switch off or are you focused on the games?
To be fair, when I am away from football and with the kids, I try and be present with them and switch off from football. That is where kids have helped me in my career. I don’t overthink things anymore, I don’t go home… I try and leave football at the door. My kids are important and all they want is their dad to be present at home so I try and do that as much as possible.
What is the benefit of a winter training camp?
It's good. We don’t get a lot of time to train so it is good to be out here. I think it is important, you get to take care of your body more, you get more time after training to be able to recover and more time with physios and staff in the evenings. You can work a little bit harder because you can take care of your body a bit more. And for everyone to be together, it brings together that unity. You are together 24 hours, you speak to people that you don’t speak to that much in and around the training ground. It is good for everyone to be together and be in one place for a few days and you get to know people a little bit more.
How do you sum up the season so far?
A rollercoaster. Probably starting with lows then ending with highs and then going back to a low. It sums up my time at this football club. If you don’t win that is how it is going be. If you lose you know how it is going to be, if you win you are on top of the world and you are heroes. You get used to it. I know the demands here. You have to take that into consideration and the longer you have been here I think the easier it gets. For the new players, it is more difficult, they probably haven’t seen anything like it before. It has been the same as it is every year, there are ups and downs. We have ended on a positive note, we are in competitions, and we have won a competition, which was a massive signal. It has been 18 months since we won our last trophy and we needed that as a group, especially as a new group, to show boys what it is like to win at this place. To get the feel of it, get the taste of it and strive for more in the future.
How do you sum up the change since the manager was appointed?
Really good. He is clear and precise in everything he wants, he demands high standards in everything that we do and 100 per cent in everything that we do. I think he has gained the respect very quickly of the team in every area, tactically, the way he wants to play, discipline around the club, respect for other people and the way he wants you to train. There are no easy days and there are no days where you are able to give, 60, 70, 80 per cent in training. I love that. It is the way that I am and it is something that this place has craved for a long time.
Did he need that kind of personality to get things moving?
Definitely. The club needed someone to come in and say ‘It is my way or the high way’ and I think that is what he has done. He set his precedent very early and you can see in some team selections or decisions that he has made that it is his way or you are not going to play. That means that everyone is on board and everyone is pulling in the same direction. At the same time, he is a good man manager and a good people person, he speaks well and clearly. He is honest, which I think is the only thing you can ask for as a player. I think that is why he will get the best out of this club.
Do you feel you are in the best place to achieve more success?
I really hope so. That is why I signed a contract, that is why I stayed here. The feeling of winning here is a feeling I don’t think you can get anywhere else and that is what I want to do and why I work so hard every day. One to be in the best condition that I can be and two to help this football club. I know at the end of the season that is all you get judged on and I know every single weekend that is all you get judged on, the results and if you win a game of football. I hope so. I have still got two-and-a-half more years and I hope by the end of it there will be a lot more trophies.
A big part of your clean sheets and defensive record has been Jack Butland - what’s he been like to work with so far?
Really good - it’s just the presence and the calmness you have behind you. When big moments happen I feel like for a goalkeeper, especially at this club you might not have much to do but when the big moments come he seems to pull off saves and help the team. You look at even one in the last game against Kilmarnock although we didn’t keep a clean sheet the one-on-one in the first half at 0-0 if that goes in, Ibrox maybe gets a bit twitching and we maybe don’t play as well. 10 minutes later we’re 2-0 up and the atmosphere is completely different. It’s brilliant, he comes to collect when balls are in the air so it helps us with set pieces and things like that and with the ball at his feet he can play with us so he’s been an amazing addition. He’s a top person as well a real top person around the dressing room, one of the leaders now. Hopefully, long may it continue.
What have you made of Fabio Silva so far?
It was good to get him early. I have only trained with him for two days and he looks good, looks like he is trying hard to settle and seems like a really nice person, he’s talking to all the boys and is not isolated. That’s important when people are only coming for six months. He seems like he works his socks off in training. I can’t say too much because we haven’t done certain exercises or played 11-vs-11 scoring goals but the way he works in training is infectious, his pressing is infectious. I think you get that up the high end of the pitch and the rest of the team follows so hopefully I will see more of him this week, he hits the ground running and scores goals for us.
How much do you think can be achieved between now and the end of the season?
Work hard every day and we will see where the process takes us. That’s the only way to do it, the only way I know how to do it. If you look too far ahead it causes nerves and anxiety so there’s no point. Work hard every single day, bring your best self and what will happen will happen. The only thing we can do as a team is work our hardest every single day, listen to the manager and get his points as quickly as possible and see how we can develop. The better we develop the more wins and points we will get. Hopefully, at the end of the season, we end up in the big months with titles on the horizon. Work hard every day that’s all you can do.
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