Rossiter keen to reward manager’s faith in him for revamped Rangers
● Midfielder ready to put ‘nightmare’ of injuries behind him and repay Ibrox boss
Jordan Rossiter has expressed his gratitude to Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha for the patience and support he has shown him during his recovery from a wretched and sustained injury absence.
Former Liverpool midfielder Rossiter, signed by Caixinha’s predecessor Mark Warburton in the summer of 2016, made just six appearances in his debut season before being sidelined for the rest of the campaign by a combination of back, calf and hamstring problems.
The 20-year-old might have feared he would become a casualty of the radical overhaul of personnel undertaken by Caixinha this year as he reshapes his squad. But Rossiter remains in the Portuguese coach’s plans and made his first starting appearance at Ibrox for a year in Wednesday night’s 6-0 Betfred Cup victory over Dunfermline.
“The gaffer was superb with me,” said Rossiter. “He came in towards the latter stage of my injury so he saw a bit of what I was going through. He has been first class. To get the opportunity to play back in front of the fans was really pleasing and I thank him for it. Hopefully now I can kick on and stay fit.
“Listen, I had an absolute nightmare last season and it was really frustrating for me. But I have come through it and the physios and sports science lads have been brilliant with me. To be honest, at the moment I am just happy to be involved back with the lads and training every day. In the long term, I need to keep on working, keep on getting fitness. It is up to me to stay fit and keep on putting pressure on the lads in the team. I am not going to throw my arms up and say I need to be in the team. I just need to keep my head down and work hard.”
Rossiter faces significant competition for one of the central midfield slots in Caixinha’s now preferred 4-4-2 system following the arrival of summer signings Graham Dorrans and Ryan Jack.
“It is good for the team going forward,” he added. “We are a team of lads and grown men and the competition is good for us. I am sure we are all going to support each other this season and for our final goals, that is what we need to do. We need healthy competition and I am up for the challenge, as everyone else is. There are 11 shirts at the end of the day and we are all working towards getting in the team. But it is a squad game so that is what we need to focus on.”
Following their dismal Europa League exit against Luxembourg minnows Progres Niederkorn, Rangers have managed to restore some desperately needed positivity around themselves with their winning start to the domestic campaign against Motherwell and Dunfermline.
“The lads were fantastic right from the first whistle on Wednesday and we didn’t give them a sniff of anything,” said Rossiter.
“The pressure we put on told and it was a great performance. To score six goals is a good feeling.
“All the lads know there were a few disappointing results in pre-season as well as the European game. The gaffer spoke a lot about momentum and building it, and since the Marseille friendly game we have been superb in training, on the field and off the field. It is only going to be good going into Saturday against Hibs and future games.
“It was the same against Motherwell on Sunday, we were first class in the first 20 minutes. I don’t think they could deal with us. The good thing [on Wednesday] was that we kept it up for the full 90 minutes. The gaffer talks about fast starts and building momentum in the game. I thought we were brilliant and it was a good performance. We have got a long way to go though and we know that.
“Everybody needs a bit of time to adapt but the new lads have been brilliant and the last four or five performances have shown they have adapted well so that is only going to be good for the season.”