KAMARA NEVER LIES
Glen: Honest truth is fans didn’t expect much from me this season but I’ve shown there’s role for everyone as gaffer needs to juggle squad
No one has been more surprised by the emergence of Glen Kamara as a Rangers mainstay than the player himself.
But the softly- spoken Finnish playmaker insists Steven Gerrard’s sky- high squad standards are dragging out the best in him.
The 24-year-old bargain basement buy, signed on a £50,000 punt from Dundee, has played in five of Gers’ last six games – and in 10 of their 11 Euro ties – in the most loaded department of their team.
And he’s there because every time he plays, he knows it might be his last for a while unless he turns it on.
An ever- present in their three group games so far, and expected to keep his role when they face Porto at home on Thursday night, Kamara admitted: “I didn’t expect to do as well as I have or as quickly as I did.
“I came in and had no expectations on me. A lot of fans didn’t really know me that well so weren’t really expecting a lot.
“But the biggest thing is I’ve learned a lot about myself since I came here in January.”
In a rotating talent pool in the Ibrox engine room, Kamara has played 17 of Gers’ 24 games this season.
And judging by their 4- 0 win over Ross County in Dingwall, their standards aren’t being allowed to drop no matter who is in the line-up.
Kamara said: “We’ve a lot of games coming up so it’s always helpful when you can rotate the squad yet still produce a performance like that.
“I just feel that every time you get out there you have to do well.
“If you don’t you can potentially be out of the team for weeks. The good thing is everyone is in it together even when you’re out of the team.
“Andy Halliday isn’t in the team every week – but he’s vocal on and off the pitch and a real presence in the dressing-room.
“He’s an example to everyone, he sets a benchmark for us all.”
Gerrard made five changes from the Motherwell game to for the trip to Dingwall but the gaffer insists he doesn’t want to be seen as some kind of
Claudio Ranieri- style tinkerman who doesn’t know his best side.
He realises, though, that with 13 more games in eight weeks between now and the winter break, he has to rotate and keep the players happy while juggling his side.
The manager said: “The biggest challenge for the players is understanding that and educating yourself on it. I didn’t like it.
“At first I saw it as being dropped
or the ma n a g e r wasn ’t having me. “But with age and experience of the schedule and the amount of games, you soon realise your manager has to offload you at certain times.
“If you’re talking about form, it’s difficult to ask a player to play every minute of every game, unless you are blessed with a robust body that recovers well.”
Not all players take kindly to the idea they need a rest – Alfredo Morelos was caught on camera mouthing an obscenity as
Gerrard hooked him with the game safe in Dingwall. He was like the kid told to get in for his bath but who did not want to stop playing with his pals. Gerrard laughed and said: “Exactly! We’ve all been there. Alfredo will know that for him to stay at top form, and for us to get the best out of him, he needs to be looked after at certain times.
“And I’ve another magnificent forward ( Jermain Defoe) who I need to keep happy.
“Alfredo will never change and I expected that reaction, but they al l need to be managed different. The key to
that is communication. He just wants to play every minute – he’s like a big kid in the playground when he’s out there training.
“I wouldn’t have made five changes for the County game but for injuries.
“I don’t want to be known as a manager who tinkers, who makes five or six changes every game, as it won’t be like that.
“If there’s a few injuries, and you already have two or three changes you want to make, it might look more than necessary – but I’ll do what I think is right for the result.
“So there were five changes and if anything the performance level went up – against Motherwell our performance was mixed.”
Rangers will have the chance to put some dayl ight between themselves and Porto in Group G on Thursday night as t hey chase knockout football beyond
Christmas.
Both are locked together on four points, two behind
Swiss side Young Boys, although Rangers are a goal better off.
Gerrard insists after a decent draw in Portugal, three points are in his sights. He said: “There’s more pressure on them. We’re at home so we are expected to win.
“We will be aggressive and do everything we can to win but still expect a tough challenge from Porto.
“They are a technical team with players capable of changing the game – like they showed when they scored the first goal against us.
“Last year’s experience in the competition is helping a lot of players so that was certainly nice to see.
“It was a performance where everything clicked really.
“We were one situation away f rom pos t ing a per fec t performance against a team who got to the last eight of the Champions League last time.”
The changes might look more than necessary but I’ll do what is right