Andrew Cavenagh feels James Tavernier should have accepted substitute role

There was controversy before the game against Hibernian when the 34-year-old right-back refused to sit with the substitutes for what was to be his farewell game at Ibrox after 11 years at the club.

Tavernier did come out before the 2-1 defeat in a suit for a presentation from former Rangers captain and manager John Greig.

The outgoing Gers captain released a statement on his social media account on Thursday in which he said he felt “deeply hurt and let down” by Rohl’s decision to deny him a farewell start.

Cavenagh said: “Tav is a legend, a hall of famer at the club and incredibly important to us.

“The game on Wednesday, we knew it was going to be our last match for us and so incredibly important.

“So the club prepared a series of events to celebrate his time at the club.

“We had a pre-match presentation with John Greig, he was on the front and back of the programme, there was a video tribute etc.

“So we knew it would be a great time to honour his time at the club.

“The decision to start or not start him was Danny’s. The club chose not to intervene and in general we’ve tried to separate what the club is doing to celebrate somebody and sporting (decisions).

“So at the same time from Tav’s perspective it was an incredibly emotional night, his last night at Rangers having been here 11 years.”

Cavenagh continued: “I think two rational people could argue that Jim (Gillespie, chief executive) or I should have stepped in to force Danny to start him. And I think everybody would understand why Tav would be emotional about the situation.

“But that’s where I also want to say a couple of things on behalf of the club that are really important.

“When you are asked to pull on a Rangers jersey, you pull it on. No questions asked.

“And in any organisation, sporting or not, you will have disagreements and when you do, first thing you do is talk about it and try to solve it before making decisions and those are kept behind closed doors.

“We’re not blind. Wednesday was not a good look for anybody. No-one came out of that looking positive. And we would always look to put the club first.

“But none of that changes how Tav’s legacy, none of that changes our opinion of Tav. From my perspective it’s water under the bridge and we’re moving forward.”

Questions were asked as to how Rohl handled the situation with Tavernier.

Cavenagh added: “I think we would all look back and wish the outcome was different than the way it was.

“But I don’t want to get into too many details because what I just said is what I mean – this should all have been kept behind closed doors and not have spilled out into the public because it’s a black eye for the club.

“We’ll put a line under it and move forward in a positive way.”