Worrall believes his continental exploits have made him a better player
STEVEN GERRARD labelled it a ‘sink-or-swim’ assignment for Joe Worrall and, 44 seconds into the job, the 6ft 4in defender’s suitability for the deep end could have been plunged into question. Worrall was thrust into his Rangers debut in the Europa League opener against Villarreal and was promptly unlucky to inadvertently tee up a goal for Carlos Bacca in El Madrigal.
The incident was at odds with almost everything Rangers had managed en route to the group stage. They had conceded only once in four away trips through knockout qualifying.
Yet Worrall steadied to perform outstandingly for the remainder of his first start on loan from Nottingham Forest as Rangers went on to secure a stunning 2-2 draw, almost snatching a win in the closing stages.
Cementing his place since then alongside Connor Goldson, Worrall has gone on to star as Rangers stretched the unbeaten European run to ten against Rapid Vienna then a club record 11 a fortnight ago.
That scoreless Ibrox draw against their hosts in Russia this Thursday, Spartak Moscow, kept Gerrard’s men on course for advancing from Group G.
At the midway stage, Rangers share top spot with Villarreal on five points and 21-year-old Worrall admits the experience of three Europa League contests has already made him a superior defender.
‘It really opens your eyes,’ said Worrall. ‘I’ve played quite a few games already at Forest and on loan at Dagenham, but this just broadens your horizons so much.
‘It’s another weapon in my arsenal to say that I’ve played in the Europa League, I’ve been at Rangers. It’s all experience in the bank and I’m really enjoying it.
‘Playing games is vital at my age. Coming out on loan and maybe not playing was something that I didn’t want to do. I wanted to be out there on the frontline, getting minutes under my belt.
‘So far I’ve done that. I just want to crack on and keep doing what I’ve done and hopefully try to pick up more wins for Rangers.
‘Playing in Europe was a massive appeal to me. The lads have really bought into it. It’s totally different to playing your domestic football.
‘I think if we can keep producing in Europe, it will rub off in the league.’
The league low point — a 1-0 loss at Livingston — left Worrall exposed to his first wave of criticism just five days before Rangers produced the perfect response against Rapid.
European progress would have been billed as a bonus before the start of Gerrard’s maiden campaign as a manager.
Yet the merit of Europa League performances are proving to be pivotal in shielding the Rangers boss from greater alarm over domestic setbacks, including the Betfred Cup semi-final loss.
From Worrall’s experience so far, being the underdog in the European environment has suited a revamped Rangers squad better than attempting to drive home dominance as a domestic force.
However, he is convinced they will soon be excelling on both fronts.
‘In Scotland, we face a number of teams who sit behind the ball a lot and give us a lot of respect,’ noted the Englishman.
‘In Europe, we are viewed as underdogs. So they come for us and we can play through their press.
‘We should have won the game at Ibrox against Spartak. In Moscow, we can go and get the three points. The manager fields a team that’s tailor-made against the opposition.
‘So if we get the formula right in the league, we can go on and score three or four goals and blow teams away at Ibrox. We should be beating teams at home, no matter who they are, rolling some teams over.
‘We’ve conceded some poor goals and I hold my hand up for a few of them. We need to stick together because the expectations are huge.
‘You draw at home (against Kilmarnock) and get slaughtered. You need that pressure as you could crumble, or you could really grow.’
Rangers assistant manager Gary McAllister’s first season with Liverpool grew into a stellar silverware campaign thanks in part to a long European adventure.
Gerard Houllier’s team won three knockout events, including the UEFA Cup, and McAllister acknowledges the ‘momentum-making’ qualities of a streak of results on the continent.
‘When clubs like this gather that momentum, anything can happen,’ he said. ‘We’ve enjoyed some nice plaudits during this run. ‘We’ve experienced a couple of
murmurs domestically but the European run has been exciting. The players have been excellent. On the way to the group stage, there have been heads in the way, blocks, players sent off, it’s not been easy defending.
‘But it’s been very exciting against quality teams. And I think they are wary of us now — including Villarreal where we were really causing them problems late on.’
McAllister anticipates Spartak, who continue to be guided by caretaker manager Raul Riancho, will be more adventurous than when they secured one of their two group points in the Ibrox stalemate.
‘They were a team that came to try to frustrate — and they did their job,’ said McAllister. ‘We just couldn’t break them down.
‘The onus will be on the home team now. They need a result. There will likely be more opportunities to produce in the final third. We’ll look to try to score goals.’
The Europa League is really another weapon in my arsenal