Scott Arfield has issued a defence of Rangers captain James Tavernier insisting that the Englishman has a strong mentality.

The Ibrox captain has come under criticism with some suggesting that he and defensive teammates Connor Goldson and Borna Barisic lack a winning edge in their heads.

Arfield totally disagrees with that suggestion and he has backed Tavernier to continue a hugely successful spell at the club.

He told The Athletic: “It’s extremely unfair. Mentality can come in many ways.

"Tav has played more than 400 games and never misses anything. Talk about mentality as a professional, how many would crumble at just the thought of going to play in front of 50,000? It’s a completely different thing.

"If you’re putting yourself on the line every time, then sometimes you’re going to lose.”

Arfield has also offered an insight into the coaching methods of former Rangers boss Steven Gerrard, who brought him to the club back in 2018.

He explained: “With Steven, I remember we signed Lassana Coulibaly and we were doing this passing exercise. He was a warrior and all-action but pinging the ball wasn’t his forte.

"On this particular day, he was to ping it out wide to Borna Barisic. He couldn’t do it and Gerrard, without even warming up, just came over and said, ‘Just do this’. He hit this diagonal six inches off the ground for about 60 yards, incredible. He couldn’t understand how someone couldn’t do that.

“After the first six or seven games I played, he pulled me in and hammered me. I thought, ‘Fair play, I get it’, and I went on a run after that. He had that switch and there were loads of moments like that, but there were no grudges like with other managers.”