An hour per game from Niko will satisfy Pedro
RANGERS will need cool heads and complete concentration to make sure they don’t suffer an embarrassing European exit this week.
The Ibrox club won’t have it easy when they play Progres Niederkorn in Luxembourg’s national stadium on Tuesday night.
Taking a slender 1- 0 lead anywhere is never comfortable, and the home side will have taken tremendous encouragement from their performance in Glasgow.
What they don’t have is a player of Niko Kranjcar’s quality.
The Croatian was head and shoulders above everyone on the pitch during Thursday’s first leg of the Europa League qualifier.
His contribution was excellent while it lasted, but a question mark remained over his fitness.
The 32- year- old was replaced after 69 minutes but could easily have been taken off earlier in the match.
It’s understandable that his stamina won’t be the best after missing nine months of last season with a serious knee injury, but he also toiled to finish matches during the early part of his Rangers career.
Light Blues’ boss Pedro Caixinha is unconcerned. He will settle for an hour of Kranjcar’s magic.
He said: “It’s just a question of time. He needs a little bit more time, but the quality is always present.
“If he gives me that for one hour in every match from now until the end of the season, I will be happy.
“I don’t remember a player being applauded so aggressively during my time here.
“He had such a long absence with a difficult injury, so to be back at this level really demonstrates his mentality, his quality and his desire to help the team.
“One thing that we can never buy is time. So we are fighting against it.
“I don’t care about it as long as when he is on the park, he gives me everything.
“We have more options for that position “We can have one or two quality players performing in that position over the 90 minutes.”
It’s not only Kranjcar’s play that excites Caixinha. He’s also delighted to have someone with his game intelligence.
Some managers don’t encourage players to voice an opinion when it comes to tactics, but the Portuguese boss positively encourages it.
He went on: “It’s about seeing the game two steps ahead.
“On Thursday, we tried to start passing in the middle with one-twos.
“Niko was telling me: ‘Me and Kenny Miller cannot keep going up and down the park, they are winning the second balls. Maybe it’s better for us to reverse it’.
“This is the sort of relationship with the players we need to understand the games.
“It’s not just about players, but coaches on the pitch.”
The Rangers players who didn’t play against Niederkorn in midweek took part in two 30- minute
spells against Raith Rovers yesterday.
Caixinha doesn’t shy away from the tension that will accompany the tie in Luxembourg.
He said: “The pressure is on us, totally. They think they can win, and if I was in their position I would think the same.
“I don’t think they will change the strategy they brought to the first leg.
“But what matters is the final result of the tie – not if we could have or should have scored more.
“We need to know how to deal with their approach over there.
“It’s going to be a fantastic challenge.”