RANGERS STAR INSISTS TITLE RACE ISN’T OVER
Candeias is willing to go the distance
We want to put this club back on top. Our fans deserve it because they’re fantastic
DANIEL CANDEIAS has no intention of conceding the Ladbrokes Premiership crown to Celtic. Not while Rangers still have the chance to create a genuine title race.
The Portuguese winger played his part in helping Graeme Murty’s side move back into second spot last weekend, edging above Aberdeen on goal difference after a 5-3 win at Hamilton.
Celtic remain nine points clear at the summit but a home victory over Hearts on Saturday would see Rangers reduce that gap to six — at least until their Old Firm rivals visit Pittodrie a day later.
Consistency has been the key issue for the Ibrox outfit this season. Too often, impressive performances and results have been followed by a setback that deflates some of the optimism surrounding their fortunes.
Candeias knows that fluctuating form must be addressed and fully accepts that Celtic remain strong favourites to secure a seventh successive championship.
Even so, the 29-year-old is adamant all at Rangers are determined to try and apply some genuine pressure over the final 11 top-flight matches.
‘We play Celtic in a few weeks,’ said Candeias (right), looking ahead to the March 11 derby at Ibrox.
‘It won’t be easy to win the title, but it’s not impossible either. Of course Celtic have a lot of quality... but let’s see.
‘Our aim this season is to win at least one trophy. We are also in the Scottish Cup quarter-finals, too.
‘With the size of this club and the fans we represent, we should be winning trophies.
‘We still have to play Celtic before the league split and then we play them again — and the other clubs in the top six, too.
‘We want to put this club back on top. Our fans deserve it because they are fantastic. Every game at home we have a sell-out and they always fill their end at our away games.
‘That motivates us more. The least we can do for them is win a trophy.
‘Rangers are a club who were used to winning — they have the most titles in the world. So to go through everything that happened here was not easy. ‘So, as you can imagine, the fans want the title and we are very keen to give them it. ‘At the moment, Celtic are the strongest team because they are on top. But we have to play them twice and, with the gap only nine points, anything can happen.’ Candeias can be regarded as something of an unsung hero for Rangers this term. A successful element of Pedro Caixinha’s deeply flawed recruitment last summer, the £600,000 signing from Benfica has been a regular source of goalscoring opportunities through his work on the right flank.
His value has also been noted defensively. James Tavernier admitted last week that the willingness of Candeias to cover his attacking runs had been a key contributor to his excellent form at right-back.
Ibrox supporters have warmly accepted that work rate. And Candeias feels equally at home operating in front on them.
Remarkably, Rangers are the 13th club of an itinerant career that saw loan spells in Germany, Spain, France and Turkey prior to his arrival in Glasgow on a two-year contract.
‘It’s going really well for me,’ said Candeias, speaking to a Portuguese magazine. ‘At the moment, I have made more assists than anyone else — seven in the league and ten in all competitions.
‘I feel that I have adapted well to Scottish football and I want to continue to score and provide assists.
‘The truth is that I have settled in well here. It helps that we have Portuguese players and of course, the manager was Portuguese when I arrived.
‘Scotland is a country which welcomes people and it helps that we are doing well now. I feel better with each game.
‘I was forever being loaned to clubs and that isn’t healthy for a player. Fortunately, I managed to sign permanently for Rangers and I am in a stable environment which is very important to me.
‘Football here is more physical. There is more of an emphasis on direct play, more than in Portugal. Here the players are very physically strong, they do not stop running, they are well prepared and the game is quicker.
‘It’s basically similar to English football, but of course they have more quality there. But here there are also good teams and it’s a difficult league.’
Candeias insisted the players had to bear responsibility for Caixinha’s sacking last October, but admitted results at home and in Europe had weakened the manager’s position beyond repair.
‘Pedro personally invited me to Rangers, so I have a lot to thank him for,’ he added.
‘The problems started with the Europa League. There was a lot of expectation because it was Rangers’ return to Europe. But
the loss in Luxembourg (to Progres Niederkorn) shook everyone.
‘Then we lost in the League Cup semi-final (to Motherwell) and that made it really complicated for him.
‘When the fans want so much to win, less time is given. I think that’s what betrayed him.
‘We had a good team with good players, but coaches live and die on results. It was not his fault. We (the players) also have to take responsibility for what happened.’
A former Portugal Under-21 international, Candeias also admits he has not given up hope of a senior call-up if he can help Rangers attain success.
‘Of course I miss my country, but at the moment I do not plan to return,’ he said.
‘My dream is to represent Portugal. I know it’s hard because we have great players and more and more are coming through, but I always have that thought I could make it.
‘But first of all, I want to help Rangers to win trophies.’