Steven Gerrard believes James Tavernier is every bit as good as former England teammates Glen Johsnon and Kyle Walker.
The Rangers captain netted is 16th goal of the season during his side’s 4-0 win at Ross County with the Ibrox side now 13 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
Tavernier is already just one short of matching his best ever season tally in light blue of 17.
And the right back also provided two assists as Rangers ran riot in Dingwall.
His manager played with some top right backs during his time and believes the former Wigan man compares with the best of them.
“It’s top level stuff. I have played with some fantastic attacking right-backs - Kyle Walker, Glen Johnson, Steve Finnan to name a few," said Gerrard.
“Tav is right up there. The way we play really suits James. The pleasing thing for me is he is still contributing to the other side of the game. He’s pressing, he’s really aggressive, he’s winning his duels, stopping crosses.
“Our clean sheet record, to me, is just as important as James’ other numbers. Where he is right now, he needs to bottle it and stay there for as long as he can because he’s in fantastic form.”
While Tavernier is producing the good like never before on the park, Gerrard revealed he measures his skipper’s effectiveness by what he does off it.
“People will talk about the assists and the goals but I judge James differently,” he explained.
“I judge him on as soon as he walks through the door, what's he doing? Is he helping me set the standards? Is he professional in everything he does? Is he leading by example? Is he helping the young lads? Is he making sure everyone is at it and the culture remains strong?
“This season he has been absolutely fantastic.
“I can't be any more proud of him. He just needs to continue doing what he's doing because he's a massive help to me.”
