With the Ibrox coffers set to be swollen to the tune of circa £5m as a direct consequence, it may seem somewhat bizarre to suggest that the group stage of the Europa League can appear to be a curse as well as a blessing.
To be clear, this is precisely the stage where Rangers want to be. Next week's trip to face Villarreal followed by jousts with Rapid Vienna and Spartak Moscow are the clearest indicators yet of a return to rude health.
Negotiating four qualifying rounds represented a major early success for Steven Gerrard with the financial gains an early return on the investment ploughed into the squad on the Englishman's watch.
Rangers manager Steven Gerrard talks to his captain James Tavernier during a recent match
The unfortunate trade-off, of course, comes in the shape of limbs possibly wearying under the strain of such a hectic schedule. Maintaining a fight on four fronts is taxing in the extreme.
Kevin Thomson knows this scenario all too well. Back in 2007-08, he was part of a squad which played 68 games at home and abroad.
Success was measured by the winning of both domestic cups but clinching the title on the final night and the UEFA Cup Final against Zenit St Petersburg proved to be bridges too far.
But as easy as it might be to pin such near-misses on the onset of fatigue, the former Ibrox midfielder point blank refuses to do so.
Indeed, as Gerrard's charges set about negotiating a blizzard of fixtures set to blow their way between now and Christmas, the 33-year-old believes anyone contemplating getting their excuses in early would be well advised to keep their own counsel.
'To me that's a lame excuse - to think that the schedule is going to be difficult,' he stated.
'If you want to be at this club, you need to be fighting on all fronts.
'We didn't lose the UEFA Cup final because we were tired. We never lost the league because we were tired.
Gerrard will have the task of managing his squad across four competitions this season
'We lost them because in the end we fell a wee bit short.
'If you ask any player if they'd rather have a busy schedule and the chance to be successful in all competitions, I'm sure they'd all want that.
'I don't think you'll ever hear the manager using the excuse of players being tired.'
At last count, the running total of additions under Gerrard's watch stood at 15.
Even allowing for a substantial number of outgoings, the squad has a depth and quality to it not seen in years.
That, added to continual advances in the science surrounding the sport, gives Thomson even less grounds to look sympathetically at the schedule the current Light Blues squad are about to tackle.
'Recovery is a big thing in football these days,' he explained. 'You hear a lot of people talking about recovery days and making sure you have got the right fluids and food inside you.
Season at a glance
- Scottish Premiership
- Premier League
- Championship
- League One
- League Two
- Scottish Premiership
- Scottish Div 1
- Scottish Div 2
- Scottish Div 3
- Ligue 1
- Serie A
- La Liga
- Bundesliga
'With the stuff at this club's disposal, sports science and these facilities, it's never going to be an issue having lots of games throughout the season.
'People make excuses for being tired. The mental side of it is tough. You have to prepare yourself right, be focused and be a strong individual at this club.
'But I think the manager having that at the top - that then breathes into the squad.' Before the rigours of the trip to Spain can be considered, Rangers must first flush a meek defeat in the Old Firm game from the system.
Pointless Dundee are the visitors to Ibrox on Saturday. For all Gerrard's side have travelled to Aberdeen, Motherwell and across the city in a tough start, an emphatic victory must surely be recorded if pretentions of a title challenge are to be maintained into the winter months.
'You have to bounce back at this club. That's fundamental,' Thomson said.
'There's no denying that Celtic are capable of going on a big run so Rangers need to try and hold onto their coattails for as long as possible.
'After a defeat, sometimes it's difficult when there's an international break as you want to get straight back on the training pitch and make things right.
'A few of the boys were away so I'm sure the manager will be glad to get them back in one piece and look forward to hitting the ground running against Dundee.' Even allowing for a testing start to the Premiership, the contrast in Rangers' domestic form and that they've taken into Europe has been stark.
Bluntly, while games against the likes of Villarreal are very much welcome, there surely isn't a man, woman or child who wouldn't swap such nights for a crack at the title.
'The manager will know that come Christmas time they need to be there or thereabouts if they are going to have an opportunity to be successful this year,' Thomson predicted.
He will need to manage star players such as Alfredo Morelos to keep them fighting fit
'There's no doubt Celtic deserve a lot of credit for the success they've had over a number of seasons. But I'd say this is the first season, as a fan of Scottish football, that they'll have been tested. I may be wrong. They might win the league by 20 points.
'But I think this will be the first time in a while that they'll come under pressure in domestic competitions having obviously had it their own way for a period of time.
'That hopefully bodes well for the manager and what he's trying to put together.' Asked to pick the best buy of Gerrard's summer spree to date, there is not much debate to be had among the rank and file.
At 36, Allan McGregor may be greying around the temples but time has not diminished his reflexes or his hunger to succeed.
'He is the best goalie I've ever played with,' Thomson stated.
'He's a winner and he knows what it takes to succeed at this club. He looks as fit and as lean as I've seen him.
'The biggest attribute he had when I was at Rangers - apart from him moaning - was his will to win.
'In five aside in training I've never seen a goalie try so hard to stop a ball going in the net.
'I'm delighted he's back. When you have class you have class and you never lose that.'
Scotland goalkeeper Allan McGregor holds off Albania's Enis Gavazaj in a recent friendly
Kevin Thompson was promoting Rangers Pools for the Rangers Youth Development Company. Fans can sign up at www.rangerspools.com and all profits will be donated back to the club exclusively for the maintenance of Ibrox Stadium.
Link articlehttps://hienalouca.com/2018/09/12/steven-gerrard-warned-complaints-about-fixture-schedule-wont-fly-at-rangers/
Main photo article With the Ibrox coffers set to be swollen to the tune of circa £5m as a direct consequence, it may seem somewhat bizarre to suggest that the group stage of the Europa League can appear to be a curse as well as a blessing.
To be clear, this is precisely the stage where Rangers want to be. Next ...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves Sport HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/09/12/00/4FA2F5DE00000578-6157431-image-a-33_1536708935186.jpg
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий