Lundstram insists it would be ‘ludicrous’ to write off signings
JOHN LUNDSTRAM has stated that it was “ludicrous” to write off Rangers’ summer signings following the Champions League third qualifying round defeat to Royale Union Saint-Gilloise last week.
Rabbi Matondo, Antonio Colak, Tom Lawrence, Ben Davies, Malik Tillman, Ridvan Yilmaz all featured for the Ibrox club in their first leg loss in Belgium last week.
But Lundstram, who endured a difficult start to life at Ibrox last season after joining on a free transfer from Sheffield United, has not felt any need to speak to the new recruits since the painful result.
The Englishman is confident they can help Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team overhaul a two goal deficit and progress to the play-offs in the second leg in Govan this evening.
Asked what he had said to summer arrivals since the reverse, he revealed: “Not much really. The players are experienced enough.
“Nothing needs to be said to experienced professionals that have had one or two bad games. It becomes a problem when you have a bad six months maybe or a bad season.
“We all go through tough patches in our career. We have played three games in the season and to be writing anyone off now is ludicrous. There is absolutely no way on earth you can write someone off, any player in world football, just because they have had a couple of bad games.
“But I wouldn’t even say any of the new players are going through a tough patch.”
Meanwhile, Lundstram has stressed that he has not given any thought to the repercussions of Rangers missing out on a £40m place in the Champions League group stage for the second year running.
“European wise, of course our aim is massive and to get into the Champions League,” he said. “That is what we wanted for a couple of seasons and, going forward, this whole league campaign is gearing towards winning the league and qualifying automatically.
“Of course it is a big moment for ourselves, we all want to be playing Champions League. The whole fanbase, the whole club, wants that. What football
player doesn’t? But in terms of season defining, it is completely different to the league campaign. Of course we want to win the league, that is what Rangers Football Club always aspires to do, but of course we want to play in the Champions League as well.”
Lundstram added: “If we don’t get through of course it will be a disappointment for everyone. But we are not at that stage. We have got a game tomorrow to play so we are not at the stage where we have to be thinking about if we don’t get through.
“That is absolutely not even on our minds. We are going into the game tomorrow to win and to win by more than two goals. It has not even crossed our minds to be honest.”