POSITIVE injury updates, the atmosphere in Brondby and praise for Fashion Sakala were on the agenda in Steven Gerrard’s press conference earlier this morning.
The manager, speaking to the media ahead of matchday four in the Europa League, says “confidence is high” following a big win against Motherwell on Sunday.
The 6-1 victory was the most convincing his side have looked all season and featured a hat-trick from Sakala.
The Rangers manager was also quizzed on the type of game his squad face tomorrow evening – with Brondby in a ‘must-win’ situation, currently sitting bottom of the group.
On the state of the squad
“Squad update is really positive. We’ve got one injury doubt in Glen Kamara – who’s probably 50/50.
“He’s had two kicks on the same ankle so there’s a little bit of swelling there. There’s been a big improvement overnight which gives him that 50% chance. We’ll wait as long as we need to in terms of Glen because he’s so important.
“Ryan Kent trained fully with the group yesterday and came through and looked pretty good. So, he’ll travel with us assuming he comes through this morning’s session.
“Ryan Jack’s training away. He’ll have an outside chance of being involved at the weekend – depending on how this game goes. But Ryan’s been back in full training for a couple of weeks now. I think the international break is super important for him. In terms of getting a load of work in big spaces in his legs.”
READ MORE: How should Rangers approach Brondby tie? - 'Fire in the stands' and a side in resurgence
Kamara was sorely missed in the summer European qualifiers. If he isn’t able to start, Gerrard may turn to the Davis-Lundstram axis that worked two weeks ago against the same opponent.
Having Ryan Kent back on the pitch, who hasn’t featured since a 2-0 defeat to Lyon in mid-September, will be a boost for everyone.
Jack’s return is naturally not being rushed – given the time he has spent out of the squad. While an outing against County on Sunday is a possibility, it’s more realistic to assume the coaching staff will verge on the side of caution and have him ready post-international break.
On Brondby's must-win game
"We have to realise this is a different environment. I spoke to Daniel Agger about the Brondby support. How lively they’re going to be and how much they’re going to be up for this game. It will be a tricky tie.
“Brondby are in a must-win situation, after the result at Ibrox. They’ve almost got nothing to lose and everything to gain. I think they’ll go for the game, I think they’ll be aggressive and come for us. So we have to take a lot of things into consideration in our preparation and our planning.
"Europa League games away from home are always a big challenge.”
Brondby have one point – they need to win tomorrow’s tie which will likely play into the hands of Gerrard. Two goals were scored in transition on Sunday and his team are more than comfortable spending periods of the game soaking up pressure in their 4-3-3 block.
In saying that, the atmosphere will need to be contended with. But Rangers have earned positive results in front of boisterous European crowds before.
On conceding first again on Sunday
“The players are all experienced enough, they’ve been around us enough as a staff to know what we demand, what our standards are. What the club demands.
“So we don’t have to keep putting it in the player’s faces and overthinking or overtalking about it. We just need to go and do our talking on the football pitch and just cut out some little individual errors and tighten up slightly from a defensive point of view. That starts from the players at the top end of the pitch.
“The positive thing for me is we’ve shown major character, major belief and real unity to keep fighting for results and turn stuff around. But, in an ideal world, you don’t wanna put yourself in that place in the first place.”
Again against Motherwell, the Ibrox side went behind. The response was emphatic but it continued a trend seen numerous times this season of vulnerable moments and mistakes being punished in the first half of matches.
Gerrard’s response here however speaks to a manager ever-growing in experience. He knows such mistakes aren’t deliberate, his players will know themselves they can’t continue with such regularity.
It’s an example of turning what appears a negative situation into an opportunity – and a chance to view the positives within that. The response this season in challenging moments has usually been impressive.
On Sakala’s pace in European games
“That’s the reason why we made that addition into our squad. It was an area and a unit where we felt we needed something different.
"Someone who could add real strength to our attacking play with that raw pace and power. That little bit of unpredictability.
“He’s an incredible human being. The way he’s come into the club, his smile, his demeanour, his attitude and his energy. He’s lifted the whole place."
It’s evident that Sakala’s quickly turned into a popular member of the squad. His celebrations with players and staff at Fir Park on Sunday showed as much.
His performance exited for numerous reasons – but also demonstrated how he will help to evolve this side.
Direct play in transition will be useful in games such as tomorrow. When an opposition, in need of a win, may leave extra space in behind.
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