MARV: GERS STARS MUST FIGHT FOR CLUB
THE badge on the front is the same, but the names on the back are different. As for the men in the jerseys? Well, Marvin Andrews remains sceptical.
The former Rangers defender returned to Ibrox last weekend as a new Light Blue era got off to a perfect start and Pedro Caixinha earned a debut victory over Hamilton Accies.
It was a comfortable 90 minutes for the Gers as Caixinha’s side cruised to a deserved win to ensure that his dreams of overhauling Aberdeen in the Premiership were not killed off on day one.
The fact that Rangers find themselves in that particular battle says it all about how this campaign has unfolded. Having started badly, Rangers must finish with a flourish.
Caixinha has had another week to get his message across to his players and the visit of Motherwell this weekend will give the Ibrox crowd another insight into a man they know little about.
Andrews pulled on his boots once again on Saturday to turn out for a Rangers Legends side against England in a fundraising match for former team-mate Fernando Ricksen as he continues his fight against Motor Neurone Disease.
And the 41-year-old believes the Light Blues squad need to show the same will to win and never say die attitude that made the Dutchman a firm favourite with the Light Blue legions during his successful six year spell in Scotland.
Andrews said: “The first impressions of Pedro Caixinha were very good.
“You could tell from the tempo and the way they won the ball back that there was a real determination.
“I know Hamilton haven’t shown much recently but it was a very good performance.
“You expect a reaction when a new boss comes in and hopefully they go into the Scottish Cup semi-final with confidence. You can tell the manager wants them to play at a high tempo, win the ball back and keep going at teams.
“I hope that continues because that was the most pleasing aspect for me.
“When you represent Rangers the one thing you always look for is heart, fight and that determination.
“Yes, you can lose a football game. That is not a problem – it’s how you lose.
“The five games before the new manager came in there was a lack of heart and urgency. It was like they didn’t really want to play. It’s not acceptable at Rangers. When I played at Ibrox you had to lose fighting. The manager has to instil that in his players.
“It was a completely different team against Hamilton – fighting and scrapping for everything when they lost the ball – and I can only speak from the outside.
“I don’t know the communication between the manager and players so I can’t comment on that but it really showed on the park.
“Fernando summed that up as a player.
“He had that character in abundance. It doesn’t matter how skilful or talented you were – without heart you won’t make it.”
WHILE Andrews was taking the acclaim of the Gers support once again in Fleetwood, Caixinha was working on a way to give the Ibrox crowd something to cheer this season.
The Portuguese has set his sights on second spot and Scottish Cup glory as he looks to lay the perfect foundations upon which to build next term.
The coming weeks are an opportunity for Caixinha to win over any doubters within the support,t butb t it’sit’ alsol a chance for his players to prove their worth. He said: “Rangers have been a through a lot and a lot of players might say to themselves they are at Ibrox due to the situation. “If Rangers had the money they once had then some players wouldn’t have that opportunity but hopefully things can change and the new manager gets some backing.”
ANDREWS joined a host of Ibrox heroes for the charity match at Highbury and rolled back the years as he took home the Man of the Match award.
The defender opened the scoring for the Gers but couldn’t prevent England running out 3-2 winners as Grant McCann, Darren Anderton and Lee Hendrie netted.
Artur Numan, Jorg Albertz and Michael Mols were also in action as a crowd of almost 5,000 showed their support to Ricksen once again.
Andrews said: “The important thing is that we were all there for Fernando’s sake. The turnout from the fans shows what a big club Rangers is.
“It was a beautiful day and I was happy about that because I was worried with the cold weather in Scotland last week. It was a beautiful day, God arranged everything perfectly.
“I last saw Fernando when we played a game in Elgin. It’s so hard to see him. In the dressing room when you look at him you can see in his heart he is there but he can’t move.
“You just wish he could get out of the wheelchair and gather round with everyone and be the Fernando we all remember.
“He has developed an illness that is the opposite to the person he was. That is the sad thing about it. ”