Cyriel Dessers puts transfer ball back in Rangers court as former coach reveals priceless lesson he taught him
Billy Dodds has warned his old Rangers bosses will be taking a huge risk if they choose to cash in on Cyriel Dessers this summer.
Dessers was a standout performer in his first start of the season on Tuesday night - scoring from the spot after setting up Djeidi Gassama for the opener in a 3-0 first leg win over Viktoria Plzen.
But, with the transfer window open until the end of the month, the striker's future remains uncertain after the club received an offer of around £5m from AEK Athens.
And Dodds - who was part of Barry Ferguson's coaching staff for the final three months of the previous campaign - is adamant that selling Dessers now might cost the club in the long run.
He said: 'It would be a gamble now. Rangers were maybe looking to sell him going into the season. But I think the big man has bounced back again and I love players who show that.
'It's like he thinks to himself, 'Get another one in, I'll put him out of the team. Get another one in, I'll see him off too!'. The big man is now saying: 'Right, bring it on. I'll just show you what I can do.'
'He's scored again and he's probably put it back in Rangers' court. I think probably Rangers did want to sell. But now, there's a question mark about it.
'They could bring in a striker who scores 20 and that's a good return. But it's still not what the big man gets.
'Yes, he misses chances and he's the first to admit that. But it's just little details.
'I'm not saying I changed him but I did point out to him, 'Any time you take more than three touches - or two touches especially in the box - you miss your chances, big man. You miss them because you overthink it!'.
'He actually looked at me one of the times when he took three touches and he's like, 'Ah, you're right!'. He admits it.
'I think that's a great trait to have because he knew what could make him better. And when he scored a few of his goals, he came to me, and said: 'one touch, two touches.'
'Honestly, the admiration I've got for him is incredible because I love people who react to a challenge in the face of adversity.
'I loved working with Cyriel. I'm not scared to say it, he's one of my favourites because I love people who want to learn. And he's a sponge.'
And Dodds has backed Nico Raskin to win over new manager Russell Martin despite being axed for Tuesday night's Champions League qualifier on the back of a warning from the boss that some of his key men have to 'drop their egos'.
Dodds said: 'Nico's a very good kid. He's got a good heart. The way I would put it is, Nico needs some convincing. But he's great.
'I think we had him playing some of his best football last season because he was adding goals and he realised he's an all-rounder. He wanted to be a No 6. He can play as a No 6 - nobody's arguing with that. That's what we told him. He's decent there. But he's better as an all-rounder.
'The Belgian manager played him as a No 6 and that was what was in his head. But he's also got to realise that if you score goals as an all-rounder then there's more money in it and bigger moves for him.
'I'm not saying he should leave Rangers but when it comes at the right time, he moves for bigger money. That's what was put to him.
'And then suddenly he starts scoring goals for that energetic position and then he believes in it, funny enough.'
In fact, Dodds believes Martin's side need more big egos if the new boss is to challenge Celtic's domestic superiority.
He went on: 'Some players were harder to handle than others. But there's one thing that was missing at Rangers - and it was egos.
'When you have egos, domestically, it looks after itself. I think you go, 'I'm a good player, we win this game consistently.'
'That's what they actually needed more of and I think that's the thing that was missing.'
* Billy Dodds was promoting the Premier Sports' live and exclusive coverage of Rangers v Dundee on Saturday from 12pm on Premier Sports 1. Fans can watch an entire season of football for only £99 using promo code PSCUP25.'
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