Ben Davies has revealed new Rangers boss Philippe Clement has urged him to believe in himself at Ibrox.
The centre-back came back into the side for the goalless draw against Sparta Prague and put in a towering performance in the Europa League clash.
And while Davies is thrilled to have made a positive impression, the defender revealed Clement has been forthcoming in his praise and belief.
"That is important," said Davies of making a good first impression. "The manager has filled the players with confidence, and in the second half against Sparta we showed that a bit more.
"On a personal note I’m happy to be back involved in the team and am most pleased about the fact we got a clean sheet."
And on his own discussions with Clement, Davies added: "He thinks I have a good passing range and he wants me to believe in myself a bit more. That’s probably the same for a few players.
"The early impression from training is that we like him.
"Thursday was another step in the right direction. That’s two decent performances in a row, the win last Saturday and the draw away from home in Europe is definitely something to build on.
"But it’s just one game at a time and we’ve got a massive game on Sunday now."
Davies came back into the side with an altered back-line as a left-back crisis forced Clement to switch to a back-three. But for the defender it was a perfect route back into the starting line-up.
"It’s been a bit of a stop-start season for me," he said. "I had a couple of injuries in the off-season and then the pre-season. I got myself into the team, then I was back out of it then back in again against Sparta.
"I knew Thursday was quite a big night for me. I needed to perform. I was quite happy with how I played - I could have done some things better but overall I’m happy to be back in the team and part of it again.
"I was happier that we moved to a back three. I’ve not played at left back for Rangers, apart from maybe a few minutes last year. Three or four minutes. I played left back for a number of years when I was first coming through but I’ve been a centre back ever since.
"The manager wanted balance on that side with my left foot, and if we had gone with a back four I would have turned up and done my best as well."
