Kris Boyd blown away by what John Souttar did away from Rangers – ‘Incredible’

Kris Boyd blown away by what John Souttar did away from Rangers – ‘Incredible’

Kris Boyd has a lot of respect for John Souttar after all the challenges the Rangers star has had to overcome in his career.

Rangers have had little to be happy about this season, but Souttar is almost certain to have played a big role whenever they did something of note, as evidenced by their triumphs over Fenerbahce and Celtic in recent days.

 

 

 

It is a testament to the centre-back’s importance that the Ibrox outfit have only won seven of their 13 Scottish Premiership games without him this season.

 

Similarly, he has grown in stature in the Scotland national team, helping them to a 1-0 victory over Greece in the UEFA Nations League play-offs on Thursday, 20 March.

 

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Boyd wowed by Souttar comeback for Scotland

Boyd was so impressed by Souttar‘s performance against Greece that he described his, as well as Grant Hanley’s, performance at centre-back as “immense”.

 

 

The Sky Sports pundit tipped his hat to the centre-back pairing for earning their place back in the Scotland team after the number of injury setbacks they have had.

 

He also reserved special praise for Souttar, who he feels has impressively bounced back after being left out of the Scotland squad for last year’s European Championship, and hailing his story as “incredible”.

 

“John Souttar and Grant Hanley were immense at centre-back”, Boyd wrote in his column on the Scottish Sun website (21 March)

 

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“Between them, they have had four ruptured Achilles in their careers. That can be the end for some players but they have both put in the hard yards to get back into the Scotland team.

 

“Souttar, after colossal displays against Fenerbahce and Celtic, was rock-solid against Greece and is now the No. 1 central defender.

 

“It’s been less than a year since he missed out on the Euros squad but you would never know with the way he’s bounced back.

 

“Souttar’s own story is incredible but you can look through that entire Scotland squad and see a similar theme.”

 

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Barry Ferguson will be impressed by Souttar’s performance for Scotland. (Credit: Imago)

Souttar impresses away from Rangers

While managers will watch their players represent their respective national teams through their fingers, it is always a joy when they perform well on the international stage.

 

It was no different when Souttar excelled for Scotland in their 1-0 win against Greece, playing the full 90 minutes alongside Hanley in defence.

 

Minutes Accurate Passes Touches Defensive Actions Ground Duels Won Accurate Long Balls

90 28/31 (90 per cent) 44 11 1/1 2/5 (40%)

Souttar v Greece, 20 March. (FotMob)

He registered 44 touches, which was the lowest among players who played 90 minutes for both teams in the game [FotMob], but completed 28 passes with 90 per cent accuracy.

 

The 28-year-old also made 11 defensive actions, of which nine were clearances. With two blocks to his name, he was not even dribbled past once.

 

Furthermore, Souttar won the only ground duel he engaged in, although his sole aerial duel ended in defeat.

 

He was instrumental in building up attacks from the back for the Tartan Army, attempting five long balls and completing two.