Cyriel Dessers was proud to take his place among some of Rangers’ 21st-century greats with his dramatic late winner in the 4-3 victory over Dundee on Saturday.
The 30-year-old Nigeria striker has been regularly criticised for his profligacy since joining from Cremonese in July, 2023 and was guilty of more missed chances on Tayside as goals from striker Simon Murray and skipper Joe Shaughnessy had the home side cruising at 2-0.
Shaughnessy scored an own goal just before the break but Scott Tiffoney made it 3-1 in the 62nd minute before goals from Gers skipper James Tavernier and substitute Tom Lawrence levelled the match.
Dessers then pounced in the third minute of added time for his 23rd goal of the season and 45th in 100 games for the Ibrox club, which ranks behind only Kris Boyd (68), Alfredo Morelos (57) and Shota Arveladze (48) for goals in their first 100 Gers appearances this century.
Dessers said: “When you say it like that, that makes me very proud.
“I had difficult times at this club, especially when I came in, but when you’re amongst among these names I think you’re doing something right.
“I know the people in the building see how hard I work in the gym, on the pitch, in training, and this is the reward so when you when you tell me this, that’s a very nice thing to hear from you. These are big names in the history of this club.
“I know it has been two hard years for everybody with a lot of ups and downs.
“We have had some unbelievable moments in Europe and winning a League Cup, but we didn’t get the big prize last season which we all fight for. So got some stick.
“I think that’s normal when you don’t win the league at Rangers, but on a personal level to hear that (record) fills me with pride.
“Obviously I want more, I think the fans want more, the gaffer wants more so I’m working hard for that every day.
😍 Late Scenes in Dundee pic.twitter.com/1WX3wKZrLE
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) March 29, 2025
“We have still got some important games left this season, so hopefully I can I can add a few more.”
It was the fifth time in seven games Rangers had gone 2-0 down and Dessers insists that needs to change for next season.
Under interim boss Barry Ferguson, Rangers are 13 points behind William Hill Premiership leaders Celtic with seven games remaining and the title is set to remain at Parkhead.
The Gers forward said: “The ability to stay in the game and come back, we’re very good at that, but it would be nice to give the first punch to them and then have a little bit more comfortable game.
“But like on Saturday, then you have to dig deep, keep going, keep believing until the last minute. But that’s something you need to learn if you want to compete at the highest level.
“You cannot have the games like this every week because it will cost you at the end of the season. You need to have more comfortable games and that’s a big step for us to make towards next season.”
