Calvin Bassey part of the Rangers answer to Connor Goldson contract conundrum

In a Celtic jersey, the Frenchman tended to make a point of only turning it on for the big games, and unfortunately for Rangers, that often meant defenders were left strewn around the grass, battered and bruised, post-Old Firm rag dolling.

But as he found out tonight, the Ibrox central defence is no longer staffed by the likes of Rob Kiernan and Phil Senderos.

Calvin Bassey and Connor Goldson showed what we already knew, they are an entirely different proposition to the journeymen Dembele bullied in days best forgotten.

The pair displayed steadfast resolve last night in the face of near-constant second-half pressure from Peter Bosz' side.

Dembele had the one early moment, a fleet-footed run that penetrated the offside line with savage precision but he couldn’t find the finish to match the run and Jon McLaughlin gathered easily. He rarely threatened again.

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The Ibrox central defenders worked in almost telepathic sync, with Bassey belying his tender years.

He showed his defensive chops when the permanently dangerous Cameroon star Karl Toko-Ekambi thrust past Nathan Patterson and into the box at speed. It would have been easy for desperation to cloud a young mind. Lesser players would have dived in, but Bassey stood the £10m man up and killed his momentum stone dead by refusing to blink.

And while there was a touch of shakiness when set-pieces were thrown into the mixer, they defended like lions for the most part, showing early signs of a very promising partnership.

Both are strong and powerful but with Goldson’s leadership skills and Bassey’s pace there is a dual skillset there that will guide the team through most difficult situations, certainly in the Scottish Premiership.

The biggest compliment you can pay to the former Leicester City youngster is that the return of his Nigeria teammate Leon Balogun will not be met with calls for his instant reinstatement.

Fil Helander may be a different story of course, and such is his experience and quality you can’t imagine he’d be cooling his heels too long on the bench.

But Bassey is likely to have won the trust of his manager, a Dutchman, and we all know about the store that nation’s football men have traditionally put on the vitality, energy and enthusiasm of youngsters in the team.

While we Scots call 23-year-olds ‘kids’ and ponder whether they are ‘ready’ for action, the modus operandi is entirely different in the Netherlands.

The attitude has always been ‘if you’re good enough, you’re old enough’. Ibrox has already seen this in action when Dick Advocaat plucked Barry Ferguson from the reserves back in the late nineties and made him the centre-piece of his expensively assembled side. Whether Bassey is that kind of generational talent will be seen in time but he’s certainly doing the business for his new boss who will be in no hurry to see him return to a left-back beat.

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Perhaps the biggest thing on van Bronckhorst’s mind will not be his suitability for this season, but a more important role in the next one.

Goldson is yet to sign a new deal and while the two parties are still talking and nothing has been rejected, it seems unlikely at this stage the Brummie will be hanging around beyond May.

While the temptation is always to go into the transfer market for an experienced replacement, perhaps the answers already lie within the club. After all, Niko Katic will return from loan fit and ready, Leon King is showing signs of being another kid from the top drawer and everyone now knows what Bassey can do.

These will be issues the manager will ponder later, but every Rangers boss who has ever walked up the marble staircase likes options. And Bassey is proving he’s capable of being a more important one than even GVB himself might ever have expected.