Rangers star Cyriel Dessers dodges disaster as 6-1 hammering makes relegation imminent

When former Premiership midfielder Scott Allen took aim at Nils Koppen this week – Rangers’ opinion-splitting technical director – he came with receipts.

Koppen may have outlived Philippe Clement at Ibrox but can the former PSV Eindhoven scout consider himself a little fortunate?

Yes, Koppen masterminded the signings of Hamza Igamane and Jefte – two raw but highly-talented youngsters already on Premier League radars – but he also green-lit deals for Nedim Bajrami, Rafael Fernandes and, a player he will have known very well from Dutch football, the much-maligned Robin Propper.

Bajrami started well but 2025 has been a disaster so far, from a personal perspective. Kris Boyd labelled injury-hit Oscar Cortes the ‘Where’s Wally’ of Scottish football last week but perhaps that moniker best fits forgotten man Fernandes. It’s telling, meanwhile, that Barry Ferguson started three central defenders against Dundee last weekend but Propper was not one of them.

Though one decision Koppen and Rangers did get right – a decision which looks more inspired by the week these days – involved keeping Cyriel Dessers at Ibrox for at least another few months.

Keeping Cyriel Dessers was the right move by Rangers

It is easy to forget just how close Dessers came to leaving Glasgow in January.

According to reports, Rangers opened preliminary talks with a number of interested parties amid links with clubs in France, Spain, America and Italy. Cyriel Dessers himself felt the need for clear-the-eye talks with the team bosses, having slipped behind Hamza Igamane and Danilo in the pecking order around the festive period.

Three months on, Dessers topsy-turvy campaign has seen him go from first-choice to third-choice and back again.

In the Barry Ferguson era alone, Dessers fired Rangers to comeback wins over Kilmarnock and Dundee – hitting a 94th minute decider at Dens Park last week – while also playing a starring role in that Europa League triumph over Fenerbahce.