TERRY Butcher’s arrival at Rangers shortly after Graeme Souness had taken over as manager back in 1986 proved to be the catalyst for the Ibrox club to emerge from a long period in the doldrums.

Now the former England captain believes the emergence of another international centre half in Govan can have an identical impact on their fortunes.

Butcher was pleased to see his countryman Steven Gerrard sign the experienced Northern Ireland defender Gareth McAuley back in September.

The ex-Leicester City, Ipswich Town and West Bromwich Albion player is, at the grand old age of 38, hardly one for the future.

But the BBC Radio 5 Live and BT Sport pundit still is confident McAuley will prove an invaluable acquisition for the Glasgow giants both on and off the park.

The early signs are certainly promising.

McAuley was unable to make much of an impression when he made his debut for the team he grew up in Larne supporting in the final minute of the Europa League group game against Spartak Moscow in Russia last Thursday night.

However, he certainly did well after replacing Nikola Katic at half-time in a Ladbrokes Premiership match against Motherwell at Ibrox on Sunday – he helped Rangers romp to an emphatic 7-1 victory and move to within two points of league leaders Celtic.

The player, who has now joined up with his national squad for a friendly against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin tomorrow and a Nations League meeting with Austria in Belfast on Sunday, has been held back by persistent injuries since arriving in Scotland.

But Butcher, who helped Souness’s side win the League Cup and Scottish title in his first season, has predicted he will become an influential member of Gerrard’s team in the coming weeks and months now he is fit again.

“Gareth McAuley, with all due respect, isn’t the youngest centre half around,” he said. “There is going to be a limit to how many games he can play.

“But you can’t beat experience. You need players who are going to be strong and stand up to the rigours of the Premiership and he can do that. You need the spine of the team to be strong and with Gareth there Rangers have that now.”

McAuley faces competition for a place in the Rangers starting line-up from Connor Goldson, Katic and Joe Worrall.

But Butcher, who had spells in the dugout in this country at Motherwell, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Hibernian, stressed that Gerrard needs four centre backs in his squad to cope with the demands of all the competitions his team is involved in.

“You want as many players as you can as a manager,” he said. “If you’ve got the money, spend it. You have got to have options in your squad. Look at clubs in the Premier League and Championship in England. They all have a good core of centre backs.

“Yes, you can play full-backs in there. But the reason they are playing full back is they aren’t good enough to play centre half! I would say that because I was a centre half. I am sure full-backs would have a different view.

“But centre half is very much a key position. If you make a mistake out wide it can be covered, but if you make a mistake in the middle, like a centre half does sometimes, then you have only got a keeper to get you out of it.”

Butcher added: “If you have got four centre backs then it keeps them all on their toes. If you have just got two centre backs it is a massive risk. If one of them gets injured you are in trouble.

“Rangers have already had a few red cards this season. They are going to get players suspended because of their bookings as well.

“There are going to be times when the two first choice centre backs at the start of the season won’t be available. You need to have good replacements. And experienced replacements certainly help.

“Gareth also gives Steven the option of going to three at the back. He has got at least four good centre backs, so he can choose three of them.”

Butcher also feels the youngsters at Rangers, not least Ross McCrorie and Worrall, will benefit enormously from working alongside a seasoned professional who spent seven seasons in the top flight in England and has made 79 appearances for Northern Ireland to date.

“If you have got a good experienced pro there then the other players will certainly learn from him,” he said. “Ross McCrorie will learn from him, other young players will learn from him.

“They will see what he does, how he behaves. You don’t get to play in the Premier League for so long and play international football for so long being a bad pro. He will have good habits on and off the pitch which players can look at.

“I have heard nothing but good things about Joe. He is certainly a good player for Scotland – he is very competitive and gets stuck in. You need that. Having Gareth there will only make him a better player.”