Danny Rohl responds to criticism over Rangers lack of Scottish players as he delivers emphatic message
Rangers boss adamant he doesn’t have to add a greater Scottish contingent to his squad
Rangers head coach Danny Rohl has been reassured he still retains the full back of the Ibrox hierarchy - but hit back at criticism over a lack of Scottish players in his squad.
The Ibrox boss utilised 16 players during Monday’s 2-1 defeat at Premiership leaders Hearts at Tynecastle, which effectively ruled them out of the title race with three games left to play.
None of those who featured at Tynecastle were homegrown players, sparking criticism from Light Blues legend Ally McCoist, who stressed the importance of the Govan giants retaining a strong Scottish core.
Rohl, though, moved to dismiss those concerns by insisting it’s about signing the right type of player who can cope with the mentality and demands of playing for Rangers, irrespective of their nationality.
“I think it's for me not about Scottish players or non-Scottish players,” the German boss commented. “I think it's about to have the right players. They can deliver consistently under the highest pressure again and again.
“I think it's for me not about Scottish players or non-Scottish players,” the German boss commented. “I think it's about to have the right players. They can deliver consistently under the highest pressure again and again.
“For me it doesn't matter which age it is, which culture, from which country they are coming. It's just important that they and that we, and this is important, we can deliver 90 minutes. Not just a good performance, 90 minutes for a good result and it means a win.”
Rangers aiming to put huge dent in Celtic’s title challenge
Their title hopes may be all but over, but Rohl has attempted to galvanise his squad in recent days, with the small matter of a sixth and final Old Firm derby of the season to prepare for this Sunday.
Determined to bounce back from two costly defeats by securing a second consecutive triumph at Parkhead after January’s 3-1 triumph in Glasgow’s east end, Rohl admitted: “Of course it is a special game for us.
“I think it was straight after the [Hearts] game as well the message to my players that we had a big responsibility for the last three games. Nobody needs extra motivation to go in this game. We want to make our supporters proud and that means we have to deliver a good result on Sunday and hopefully get three points.
“For us, it's about winning games and I think there's more trust about to stop someone else about winning a title. Everyone in our building is very clear. You take the right results and you can turn a small thing back in the right direction from the emotional level.
“Because the bigger picture, and we knew this, two defeats hurts really after maybe a hopeless season in October where nobody thought we can win something. You then come so close, you worked so hard on this as well. We spoke about mentality in general, but the same group showed us well in six months how they can come on this point.”
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