RANGERS legend Ally McCoist insists that Connor Goldson would be a ‘shoo-in’ for a contract extension at Ibrox – if he was showing the same form as last season.

Goldson has been a key member of Steven Gerrard’s squad since arriving from Brighton in 2018 and played a vital role as the Ibrox club secured their 55th top-flight title last term.

With the 28-year-old’s contract expiring at the end of the current campaign, McCoist has urged his former club to get the centre-back tied down on a longer deal in Govan – but challenged Goldson to earn a new contract by performing well on the park.

“I’ve no doubt that Steven and his representatives will get together and have a chat one way or the other,” McCoist told BT Sport.

“But it’s a funny one because Connor hasn’t shown the form that he reached last season.

“To be fair to Connor, that could be said of [Borna] Barisic, [Alfredo] Morelos, [Ryan] Kent – any of them to be honest.

“His future will definitely be on his mind. He wouldn’t be human if that wasn’t the case.

“But the important thing is that he has to go and earn the contract.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that he deserves another contract but that’s what he has to do.”

Speaking before Rangers’ Europa League clash with Brondby on Thursday night, former Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes explained the perils of allowing a player to run down his contract.

“As soon as a player enters the last six months of his contract it becomes really difficult,” he said. “It’s not insurmountable but it becomes really difficult to reach an agreement because other clubs are targeting free contracts.

“Other teams will be well aware and he will be on their radar because of his form at Rangers.”

That prompted McCoist to underline just how important Goldson is to the Premiership champions.

“You’ve got to say from Rangers’ point of view – unless they have something set up right now, they’re not in a fantastic position,” he reasoned.

“I think [Jack] Simpson still has to prove to himself to be honest with you, we’ve only seen him in bit-parts this season. There’s improvement required there.

“[Leon] Balogun has come in and has done okay in certain games.

“Listen, it’s a key position. Your goalkeeper, your centre-backs and your centre-forward are the spine of your team and are massively important.

“You’d have to say that Connor Goldson on last year’s form would be a shoo-in for another contract.”