ROARING SUCCESS
Rejuvenated Lundstram really led by example as Rangers answered critics
JComing from down south, there is a lot of expectation on your shoulders
OHN LUNDSTRAM didn’t wait to make his mark. Less than two minutes had been played at Hampden on Sunday when he made a tremendous tackle on Reo Hatate.
Bang. It fired the starting gun on an outstanding performance that was surely his most significant yet in a Rangers jersey. Celtic couldn’t cope with Lundstram’s physicality, the way he covered the ground and how he used the ball.
He aggressively dominated midfield, effectively eliminating space for Tom Rogic to have any influence on the match. More than anything, Lundstram’s sheer desire to win shone through. And it spread to his team-mates — from the moment of that first big challenge onwards.
Lundstram is absolutely central to a new approach to Old Firm games by Giovanni van Bronckhorst. After standing off Celtic and being blown away inside 45 minutes at Parkhead in February — a game Lundstram wasn’t picked for — Rangers are now on the front foot, pressing hard and, on Sunday, gaining rewards.
Different questions were asked of Ange Postecoglou’s side in the Scottish Cup semi-final. They couldn’t come up with the answers. Celtic’s performance was pretty mediocre when you consider they were aiming to keep alive hopes of the Treble.
Lundstram did more than anyone to ensure it would be Rangers booking a return to Hampden. On an individual level this season, he has gone from looking as though he might be in the wrong movie to becoming a leading man. I can only see his importance to Rangers growing further in the future.
A bad start of the kind Lundstram had at Ibrox could crush lesser personalities. We’ve seen it happen at both Rangers and Celtic.
When you come from down south, there is a lot of expectation on your shoulders. But Lundstram got a silly red card in a European game and his performances weren’t great. Then the manager who signed him left.
At one point, he might have thought he was at the wrong club. He could have stayed in England after leaving Sheffield United, and all these things were likely running through his mind. People on the outside were asking questions about his future as recently as the January transfer window.
Now look at him. I really admire the resilience he’s shown. He wasn’t prepared to give up on making it at Rangers and firmly grabbed his chance when it came.
Given he’s from Merseyside, I’m guessing Steven Gerrard probably had a strong influence on him ending up at Ibrox last summer.
If Lundstram maintains his recent form, we might look back on that as being Gerrard’s leaving present to the club. What a turnaround it has been. This last week for Rangers — first against Braga, then Celtic — was all about character and Lundstram has shown that quality in abundance. He’s proving he can be a mainstay. A rebuild is coming this summer, with important players out of contract and others entering their final year. So you need figures such as Lundstram who can bring continuity and quality to the spine of the team. As I said, he will be much more important for the team going forward than he was earlier this season.
On Sunday, he was a critical component of Van Bronckhorst’s plan. Sometimes in these games you are looking to the flair players to produce a moment of magic or a magnificent pass. But this one was all about desire, grit, passion and hunger.
Lundstram epitomised that. In conjunction with Calvin Bassey stepping out from defence — the 22-year-old was also excellent — he worked to keep Rogic out of the game.
The Australian wasn’t given space to turn or create, to run midfield like he has in some previous derbies. I think it went a long way in dictating why Celtic couldn’t function properly. In my view, Rangers were much better in every department of the game.
They fell behind out of nothing, really. Celtic hadn’t created much but all of a sudden found themselves 1-0 up midway through the second half. It was in that moment, I think, that you saw all the momentum and belief from the Braga match last Thursday night coming to the fore for Rangers.
Everyone in that dressing room was under huge pressure going into these two games. I said last week that you couldn’t overestimate the importance of them.
Rangers simply had to deliver. And they did. A Scottish Cup final and the semi-final of the Europa League makes the picture look so much rosier, even if the league title remains a real long shot.
It’s also huge for Van Bronckhorst to be able to say he got the upper hand against Postecoglou in a big match. To turn the tide somewhat. The doubters will be very quiet for the next wee while and rightly so. His tactical approach and substitutions were spot-on.
Van Bronckhorst (left) had already shown that in Europe, of course. But everyone knows the huge importance of Old Firm success if you are trying to sway public opinion.
The Dutchman has been criticised in the past for how he uses his squad but he got everything right at Hampden. Joe Aribo didn’t look like he could be a match-winner. He came off, Scott Arfield came on and scored with one of his first touches. Van Bronckhorst picked Fashion Sakala as the final substitution and he played a part in the winning goal.
Rangers still need to get the Scottish Cup in the bag — which
won’t be easy against a strong Hearts team — but this past week has given the strongest evidence yet that Van Bronckhorst can successfully lead the work that needs to be done in the summer.
He clearly has the players onside. Because the whole squad has dug so deep to keep their season going.
It looked as though it might fade away when Alfredo Morelos got injured. Instead, numerous individuals have stood up and been counted. From stalwarts such as James Tavernier and Connor Goldson to those who had only had cameo roles.
Consider the end of Sunday’s game. Rangers finished without Morelos, Lundstram, Aribo, Allan McGregor, Borna Barisic, Kemar Roofe, Aaron Ramsey, Ryan Jack, Filip Helander or Ianis Hagi on the pitch. They had played 240 minutes of high-level football in the space of 68 hours. And they got the job done.
That speaks of heart. And, to me, it was embodied by Lundstram. He deserves all the praise that will come his way.