AS RIGHT AS RAIN
Fit-again Polster isn’t here for the Scottish weather as American vows to finally kick up a storm at Rangers
MATT POLSTER has been the quiet American of Rangers. His signing barely made a ripple in January as fans fixated on the arrivals of Jermain Defoe and Steven Davis. Since then? Nothing. Not yet.
It hasn’t been for a want of trying. Having missed most of 2018 for Chicago Fire due to injury, Polster moved to Scotland with a need to regain maximum sharpness at the start of his two-and-a-half-year deal.
That process was progressing sufficiently well for Steven Gerrard to pencil him in for a debut against Dundee last month. But a groin issue sustained in training promptly scuppered the plan. Frustration would be a polite term. A further four matches have passed with Polster yet to make a first-team appearance.
Having happily settled into life in Glasgow with TV reporter fiancee Brittany Held, the 25-year-old — who can operate in midfield or at right-back — is understandably anxious to make a noise on the pitch in the weeks ahead.
‘I love it here and my fiancée loves it here but I definitely want to play... I didn’t come here to enjoy your beautiful weather,’ smiled Polster, raised in Las Vegas.
‘I feel fit, I feel comfortable now and a lot sharper. I’ve been enjoying the training sessions and hopefully my time comes soon.
‘I don’t know if the fact I’ve been injured and I’m coming back makes it easier for me. At the end of the day, I just want to play.
‘It’s frustrating when things don’t go as planned. I was due to play a few weeks ago and got injured. It’s disappointing, frustrating.
‘To be told you would make your debut and then not have it come to fruition was difficult for me.
‘But obviously I wouldn’t put the manager in a position where I couldn’t play on after 20 or 30 minutes. I wouldn’t have been comfortable trying it and for that to happen.’
It would be something of a leap for Polster to now be propelled into action for Rangers’ next fixture. But a debut at Parkhead on Sunday week would count as the stuff of dreams.
‘I would love to be part of the Old Firm game,’ he enthused. ‘It’s a big match. I haven’t even seen it live. I was away when we played them at the end of last year.
‘The expectation levels are the same — you want to beat them. The guys in the dressing room have made that obvious.’
In a way, the international break brings a further edge to his inactivity. Polster won his first senior cap against Bosnia last year but his subsequent chances of becoming established have obviously been limited.
The USA are playing friendly matches against Ecuador and Chile in the coming days as they continue preparations for joint-hosting the CONCACAF Gold Cup this summer.
‘Getting back into the national team is a huge aim for me,’ said Polster. ‘I’m disappointed not to be part of it but I can understand it as I’ve not had a lot of games under my belt recently.
‘The goal is to show I can get games here, show I can play at this level and hopefully that catches the eye of the coach.
‘If I can get in the Rangers team, get some minutes and show that I have that quality, then I think I’ve got a chance of making the Gold Cup squad, definitely.
‘I haven’t spoken to the coaches recently. I haven’t spoken to (USA head coach) Gregg Berhalter for a while. I chatted with him years ago while he was at Columbus. Outside of that, nothing.
‘There have been some pretty great players that have come from America to play here for Rangers, so it’s nice to be a part of that. Obviously, I want to show them that it won’t end with me. I want to be a part of that group of great players who played here and for the national team.’
Claudio Reyna, Maurice Edu, DaMarcus Beasley and Carlos Bocanegra provide the stars-and-stripes lineage behind Polster. Different names matter in terms of what lies ahead.
He would have to depose club captain James Tavernier to get a regular game at right-back, while Rangers’ midfield roster contains a decent list of rivals.
‘I’ve chatted with the manager a bit, more on where I’m going to play,’ said Polster. ‘He said he brought me in as a midfielder and as a right-back, so he feels comfortable playing me in either position.
‘I’ve always preferred centre-mid but when it comes down to it, you just want to play. So wherever he plays me, I’ll take a trial jump.
‘It’s not easy (displacing Tavernier at right-back) but my goal is to push him, to help him raise his game and then to push myself to fight for playing time.
‘Centre-mid might be a bit easier in some senses but it will be difficult, too, as we have good players in there like Glen (Kamara), Jacko (Ryan Jack), Scotty (Arfield) and Rosco (Ross McCrorie).
‘There are still a lot of players that you have to beat out on a consistent basis. For me, it’s just about showing in training that I can play at this level.’