Kris Boyd reckons Rangers supporters and pundits need to cut striker Cyriel Dessers some slack. 

Dessers, 29, netted his ninth goal of the season in all competitions as he helped Rangers gain a Europa League draw against Olympiacos on Thursday.

Despite that, he’s been scrutinised a lot. Even though Boyd thinks that’s because he’s having to do a thankless task of playing the lone forward role most weeks. 

Rangers also have Hamza Igamane and Danilo as strike options yet manager Philippe Clement had tended to keep his faith in Dessers.

“There is a dearth of strikers,” Boyd told The Scottish Sun. “And it means the ones who are still around have to carry all the responsibility.

“During my career, I always played with a strike partner who would share the burden. Guys like Kenny Miller.

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“In fact, look at all the top-scoring forwards in Scottish football’s modern era and they tended to play in a two.

“People still talk about [Ally] McCoist and [Mark] Hateley, and [Henrik] Larsson and [Chris] Sutton.

“Now, all of a sudden you are a one-man band up front. That leads to unfair pressure on the lone striker and the same goes for Cyriel Dessers at Rangers.”