Read everything the manager had to say following today's final game of the season in Paisley.
Pleased with that in the end?
Yeah, barring a moment at the end on Wednesday the split has been good. It’s always a difficult place to come here, they’re resolute and Stephen has them organised, they’ve had good home form. We felt we’d need lots of possession in the game and be patient, we tried something new with Fashion and Rabbi playing really high and wide and our full-backs flatter. That’s how the goal comes. Ridvan and Fashion actually share a car into training every day which is quite a strange combination but they’re obviously bringing that friendship onto the pitch. It was a fantastic pass from Ridvan, I think he’s showed fantastic promise in the last few weeks. A mention for John Souttar who’s played three games this week and been outstanding. He’s a player we’ve not had all season. I was pleased for Antonio to score, set-plays are something we want to pride ourselves on and we’ve scored a number of those now.
Pleased for Fashion?
Really pleased, as I say we played him a little bit wider today. We felt we could come off the centre-backs and cause some problems in front and then our two wide players could run from out to in. Rabbi and Fashion in the first half have big opportunities where their last shot let them down. It was a good time at the start of the second half to score our second.
Is Colak part of things going forward?
READ MORE: Detailed Rangers ratings as Fashion Sakala stars vs St Mirren
He needs to stay fit, the reality is when I came in November he was injured and he’s had a couple of other injuries since then. In that position you want someone sharp and alert, at his best he is that. The game away at Hibs was the only time I’ve felt since I’ve been here he’s been fully fit. He was fantastic in that game. At other times we’ve had to look for alternatives and Fashion has had to play more as a striker where there’s more focus on him when he’s more of a wide player. He’s been hugely effective in my time here as well. For me, into the summer, there will be more forwards coming in, we’re losing Ryan and Alfredo, we’ve not had Kemar Roofe or Tom Lawrence. That’s some loss to us over the season at different times. It's important we recruit two or three players in those positions and Tony, we want him here to fight it out, have a good pre-season and come back. Last year going into the season I thought his form was fantastic looking outside as a fan. I’ve not quite seen that player since I’ve been here for different reasons.
Does summer come at the wrong time for Souttar?
He’ll probably get another couple of games if he’s involved with the national team. His wife is due so it could be a nice summer, things seem to be coming together for John and I’m delighted for him as a man. He’ll come back pre-season, we’ve toyed a little bit with a back three at times. John has the qualities to step in, cover around people and has been blighted by long-term injuries, John Souttar is a top footballer.
Have you seen enough of Robby McCrorie to be No.1?
I’ve seen enough in the six games he’s played for Rangers, he’s kept five clean sheets and done himself the world of good. I’ve always thought he was a goalie destined to do good things. He will have more competition next year with a new face in the building, then it’s up to them to fight it out. I’m pleased with Robby and his family, he’s been patient.
Will it be your busiest ever summer coming up?
The last five/six weeks is the busiest I’ve ever been, I’ve not been shocked by anything because I was here before. The added responsibility and time off the pitch managing other areas and doing the recruitment has been busy. I’m glad the end of the season is here to be honest because I just have that to focus on, but we’re really in a good place with that and just waiting for one or two things to be signed off. Then we will start to see a new Rangers team come together. Albiet with a team that's got over 90 points this year when we haven’t done that too often in the last 15/20 years. Again, everything is broken at Rangers [from the outside] so I’m looking forward to mending it because that’s the perception and I’m not sure it’s quite true. The team who won the league this year deserved to and they’ve been the outstanding team but our record has been a strong one and I believe [we're] adding to an already good team.
Was that the final game for a few today?
Yeah a few of them have had that in the background but when you come second it’s last in Scotland, certainly in Glasgow. Those players, we just spoke about it we need to go away, have a look at ourselves, come back, set the standards and have a good pre-season. Then see where it goes one game at a time. Of late, the form from the team has been strong and our points total in the league since November, I think we’ve only dropped eight points. We’ve won a lot of football matches, the start of the season hasn’t helped us and we haven’t helped ourselves in big games by making huge mistakes notably in the final and semi-final when we had chances to change the outcome of the season. Next year we have to seize those moments and not have regrets.
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