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.
Boyd impressed by Souttar’s comeback for Scotland
Boyd was so impressed by Souttar’s performance against Greece that he termed both his and Grant Hanley’s performances at centre-back as “immense”.
The Sky Sports pundit tipped his hat to the centre-back duo for earning their place back in the Scotland team following the number of injury setbacks they have had.
He also praised Souttar, who he believes has come back well after being dropped out of Scotland’s European Championship squad last year, calling his story “incredible”.
“John Souttar and Grant Hanley were immense at centre-back,” Boyd said in his column on the Scottish Sun website (March 21).
“They’ve suffered four ruptured Achilles in their careers. That may mean the end for some players, but they’ve both worked hard to get back into the Scotland team.
“Souttar, who had outstanding performances against Fenerbahce and Celtic, was rock-solid versus Greece and is now the No. 1 central defender.
“It’s been less than a year since he was left out of the Euros squad, but you’d never know it based on how well he’s recovered.
“Souttar’s own story is incredible but you can look through that entire Scotland squad and see a similar theme.”
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.
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.
