Philippe Clement says Cyriel Dessers would be held in higher regard at Rangers if his goals had helped win a league title.
The Nigerian finished last season as the Scottish Premiership's top scorer with 18 in 35 games.
Ex-manager Clement, who was sacked at the end of February off the back of a 2-0 defeat to St Mirren at Ibrox, recently weighed in on Dessers and how supporters treat him.
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"I think Cyriel gets abused like nobody else in the club, or on the pitch at least," he told BBC Scotland.
"But he was always there to work hard and to do everything for the club every day, every training, every game.
"Also in this period in his career, he never scored as many goals as he did at Rangers for the teams he played for in the past.
"So in the end, he performed really well with his qualities. He was top scorer I think at the end of this season.
"Of course fans always want more. Cyriel, if he'd played in a team that had won the league, then he would be for everybody a good player.
"But if you don't win the league then you are not a good player anymore.
"That's life at Rangers. That's also the life that fans can have.
"It's only as a club you need to see two things; you need to look at this rationally and not emotionally."
Russell Martin was named as the permanent successor to Clement on Thursday.
The 39-year-old has penned a three-year deal at Ibrox as a new era begins in Govan.
