THE transfer fee was a signal of Mark Warburton’s confidence in his man. Now Joe Garner will look to repay that faith at Ibrox.
Ten games have yielded just three goals for Garner in Light Blue but there is no danger of the striker fretting over his modest return to date. The £1.8million handed over to Preston for his services is the biggest deal that Warburton has sanctioned at Ibrox and only time will tell if it proves to be value for money.
Garner has impressed in bursts for the Gers and his efforts have been rewarded so far with strikes against Celtic, St Johnstone and Kilmarnock. In the coming weeks and months, he must show he can be a regular source of goals as Rangers look to achieve a respectable finish in the Premiership this term.
Former Deepdale striker Neil Mellor saw Garner in action for the Lilywhites as part of his media work covering the Football League, and he is confident that Rangers and Warburton will be rewarded in time by the 28-year-old.
“I can reassure Rangers fans of Joe Garner’s quality,” Mellor told Herald Sport. “It took him 18 games before he got his first goal for Preston. As soon as he got going, he adjusted and he settled into life at the club that was him off and running.
“There was pressure because he was a Preston fan growing up and now there is a different pressure going up to Rangers and playing for a huge football club. Once he feels part of it, he will be a huge player for Rangers, but you have to give him time.
“It is not often you get time in football, either as a manager or a player, but if the patience and persistence is there I believe that Joe will certainly deliver goals in a Rangers shirt, as he did in a Preston shirt.
“It took him a while to get going but after that his record was second to none and he scored regularly. There was that initial period of settling in and for whatever reason it took him a while to get going but once he did he was flying.”
Garner is one of eleven players that boss Warburton brought to Ibrox in the summer as he bolstered his squad for a crack at the Premiership title. Those silverware ambitions have quickly evaporated, though, as Rangers have faltered on several occasions in the opening weeks of the campaign.
It will take time for Garner to adjust to the Warburton blueprint but Mellor believes the forward will add a different dimension to the Gers attack this term.
“I am sure Mark was aware of his strengths as a player and will be confident that Joe can adapt to fit into his system,” he said. “That is the way it is in football, you have to go out and show your quality, your strengths, your talent. Joe Garner can score goals.
“He is a very aggressive player, very competitive and he will give it his all for Rangers. He did that in a Preston shirt and I believe he will do that for Rangers. The supporters will appreciate his efforts because he won’t give any defence he comes up against a moment of peace.
“The more mature he has got, the more he has been able to control that aggression and channel it into ways that are more beneficial on the pitch.
“He is not one of the biggest lads but his commitment and aggression is infectious to other players in the team as well. He is fair with that aggression and if the players see it they think ‘well, if Joe is at it then I need to be at it as well’. That can spread throughout the team. I felt he was a catalyst at Preston because of his work rate.”
After several moves south of the border, the switch to Glasgow has provided Garner with challenges on and off the park as he becomes accustomed to life in Light Blue.
Expectation levels are high amongst supporters after Warburton splashed the cash to bring the striker to Ibrox this summer. It is not the first time Garner has moved for seven figures and former Liverpool and West Ham striker Mellor believes the gamble will pay off for Rangers.
“He has had that before in his career and he moved to Nottingham Forest for a bit of money a few years ago,” Mellor said. “I would think that Mark, being the manager that he is, would ease that pressure and it shows the belief that he has in him that he is willing to spend that sort of money.
“He can do something that I believe is the hardest thing to do in football and that is put the ball in the back of the net. He will get into positions and he will score goals. Once he gets going, it becomes a habit. For me, once he gets into that run he will produce consistently.”
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