Toral hopes his next manager will stick around for long haul
FOR Jon Toral, the season. appointment of Gary Rowett as Rangers manager would bring stability to a turbulent
Having spent the first half of the campaign on loan at Granada in La Liga, the 22-year-old Arsenal midfielder saw the coach who signed him, Paco Jemez, sacked after six games.
After Toral switched to Rangers in January, Mark Warburton suffered a similar fate within weeks.
By far the Spaniard’s most productive loan spell was a season at Birmingham City, where Rowett — who has been interviewed for the Ibrox job alongside Pedro Caixinha and Alex McLeish — extracted the most from his talents.
‘It was great,’ recalled Toral. ‘I really enjoyed my season at Birmingham. It was really important in my career and it was a step forward from the season before at Brentford. Gary really helped me and had a big impact.’
Toral managed eight goals in 38 games under the Englishman, adding: ‘Gary is a great manager. I really enjoyed my time with him and I learned a lot.
‘I’m not really surprised that he’s been linked. I think he’s going to be named for every job that comes around.’
The expectation is that Caixinha will be appointed to the Ibrox hotseat when the Portuguese manager negotiates a release from Qatari club Al-Gharafa.
Yet Toral joined Rangers expecting Warburton — the man who lured him to the SPFL — to be in charge until he returned to Arsenal at the end of the season.
‘It’s been difficult, obviously, for me,’ he admitted. ‘But the team has stuck by me and they have really helped me.
‘I said when I first came here Mark was a big reason for me because I worked for him before.
‘It’s always difficult when a manager goes. But I think the team has reacted all right.
‘The results weren’t there before — but I think we have stuck by the interim manager (Graeme Murty) and we’re going to do that for as long as he is in charge.’
Toral has been underwhelming in Rangers colours so far. Even when Warburton was manager, a series of languid performances made one wonder why the Englishman was so keen to land him in the first place.
Admitting that the SPFL has been a footballing culture shock, Toral conceded: ‘It has been different. Starting the season in Spain, the different type of football, the different mentality, it’s a big change. But I came here because I wanted to get some minutes, get fit and help the team. I’m trying to do that.
‘It’s a different style of play in the UK than in Spain, where it’s not as quick and is more tactical. Everyone just sits back, waits for an opportunity and keeps the ball. I’ve played in the UK before, in the English Championship, so I knew it was going to be quicker. But I enjoy it as well and I just want to keep learning.’
By his own admission, fitness was an issue. No physical slouch, he has nonetheless been outmuscled in the Scottish game, with matches passing him by.
Only now, ahead of today’s Scottish Cup quarter-final clash with Hamilton at Ibrox, does he feel he is getting to grips with the game here.
‘Physically, in the first few games, I wasn’t fit enough, I wasn’t match-fit,’ he said.
‘The manager knew as well I needed a few games and he gave me those games. Physically, I’ve improved and I’ve felt better. Now, in the last few games, I’ve played in a different position from what I’ve been used to in my other teams and played in a little bit of a deeper role. ‘I’m just trying to learn from that and, if the manager sees me there, trying to help the team in that position. ‘I hope I can get better. I always hope when I go on the football pitch there is more to come from me. And I hope, because I’m very critical of myself, that the next game will be better than the one before.’ The self-flagellation takes various forms, with sleepless nights after some poor performances doing nothing to improve his energy levels. ‘Well, when I have a bad game it’s not easy to sleep,’ he said. ‘I am really critical of myself. I analyse the games and I know when I play well and play badly.
‘I just try to put the bad games behind me, focus on the next one and do better next time.
‘But Glasgow is a very nice city. It’s got everything I need. I’m quite a quiet guy and I really enjoy it. I’m here with my wife and we’ve been all right.
‘Football is massive here. I knew that when I arrived and that was one of the reasons why I came because of the size of the club.’ Buoyed by Wednesday’s dramatic 3-2 victory over St Johnstone — a performance in which Rangers showed some mental strength after losing a 2-0 lead — Toral now turns his attention to reaching a cup semi-final.
‘The cup has to be a must,’ he added. ‘We have to go and win the game and be in the semi-final. The game against St Johnstone gave us loads of confidence. We have to build on that.’
Rowett really helped me and he had a big impact