Todd Cantwell backs Kieran Dowell to shine at Rangers

Todd Cantwell has no doubt Kieran Dowell will go on to show his qualities at Rangers.

Both players were team-mates at Norwich and after Cantwell joined the Light Blues last January, his fellow midfielder followed him north in the summer.

The 26-year-old, however, has struggled to make an impact, albeit injury has played a part in his absence.

Dowell made his first appearance since November 1 when he played his part in the 2-0 cinch Premiership win over St Johnstone at Ibrox and his early opener against Motherwell at Fir Park on Christmas Eve after keeping his place helped the Light Blues to a 2-0 win.

Cantwell, who scored the second goal which took Philippe Clement’s side two points behind cinch Premiership leaders Celtic with a game in hand, said: “I feel sorry for Kieran. He had a tough injury not long after he signed which is difficult because it changes what it looks like for him.

“He came in, looked good, scored a good goal and has been injured since.

“Fair play to him for his consistency in training.

“Every single day he has been consistent. He is a top footballer, there is no secret to that.

“I’ve had the joy of playing with him at Norwich and we were successful there. That’s the plan here too.”

The driving rain and wind at Fir Park made playing football difficult but Cantwell was just pleased to keep the winning run going, with Clement now unbeaten in 16 games since taking over as Gers boss in October.

He said: “It was tough, about as windy a game as I’ve played in to be honest.

“It was quite hard to get out of our half in the second half.

“But we came to win and it’s not always going to be as pretty as you might like.

“It affects the game massively when it’s like that.

“It’s a challenge for some people to be standing at that corner where it was windiest, let alone playing football.

“But, listen, we went there to win the game and got two early goals which I think really helped us because we didn’t have to chase the game at that point.

“We had to show a bit of resilience and, yeah, get the win.

“It wouldn’t have been, I don’t think, a particularly enjoyable game to watch.

“But sometimes the best teams have to find a way to win in all sorts of conditions.

“Things are not always going to go your way and today we made sure that we got the win and kept the clean sheet again.”