Truth: why Daniel Candeias is really leaving – and Rangers fans won’t be happy…

Steven Gerrard’s admission last night about departing Daniel Candeias was a very telling comment which we’re surprised the manager revealed, but which sheds a lot of light over the praise and platitudes the winger is receiving.

Let’s be clear – all the positives praise Candeias’ attitude, about fighting for the shirt and giving it all for the team, but it’s clear Gerrard has some slightly more negative slants to put on that.

He said:

“I said I wanted him to stay and fight for the shirt and be part of the squad but he said he wants to go and explore the situation in Turkey so we reluctantly but respectfully granted him permission.”

In other words, whether or not Stevie truly wants to keep Candeias, he says he does, and the Portuguese winger has no interest in earning his shirt.

Stevie went on:

“I have to respect Daniel and keep a lot of the conversation private but it boils down to him wanting to be a regular starter as in every single game. At his age he doesn’t want to be part of the squad and fight for the shirt without any guarantees so we have to respect his decision but it was Daniel’s decision to explore this interest.”

No player in any team has a divine right to be in the team – no matter how well they are playing, the moment they become immune to being dropped is a real problem, and these expectations are unacceptable.

If Daniel Candeias is leaving Rangers because he wants to start every match, then the plaudits over his team-ethic attitude and fighting for the shirt are short-sighted indeed.

And for the first time, after us wholeheartedly praising his work ethic and attitude last night, we can honestly say no man is bigger than Rangers to demand starts every match.

And anyone who alludes to that right is free to move on.

It’s very sad – and we don’t like players who expect to play as of right.

That said, equally it’s the second surprising reveal Stevie has made in recent weeks on top of Helander’s exact fee so we do wonder what the manager is up to with this transparency.

But, being honest is a good thing, right?