Rangers summer signing turns Ibrox side into 'excellent' team as he unlocks relentless weapon
Rangers are hitting form after a difficult summer.
Andy Halliday reckons one summer signing has made Rangers a relentless pressing machine to be feared.
Derek McInnes’ side are going through the gears after a slow start to the season and thumped St Johnstone 4-0 in their latest Premiership outing. James Penrice was signed from AEK Athens in the summer as a left-back but moving inside to a more central position is something former Rangers midfielder Halliday feels is working wonders.
He has deployed the ‘excellent’ phrase in association with his ex-side for the first time in an age due to Penrice’s ability to kickstart their aggressive pressing approach. Halliday feels it is now creating chances for the Light Blues like they had in Saturday’s storming win over Simo Valakari’s visitors.
What Rangers summer signing has impressed at Ibrox so far?
He said on Sportsound: "I think Rangers are excellent, and I haven't used the superlative excellent in association with Rangers for a long period of time. I think Rangers are excellent when they turn the ball over against the opposition. How quickly they attack from turning the ball over to scoring or creating a chance.
"A big thing for that has actually been the addition of Penrice in the middle of the pitch. They were giving up an overload against every team for the first games of the season. But now they're more front-foot, aggressive and turning the ball over in really good areas. Within three to four seconds, they're now creating chances from it."
Boss McInnes said after the win over St Johnstone: "The conditions were tough. The pitch held up brilliantly. First half we were very good. The only frustration was we took too long to get the first goal and we should be more than a goal to the good at half-time.
"We didn't want to let that frustration get the better of us. St Johnstone changed their approach, played forward quicker and we looked a bit slow to get going. The scoreline was just about right because of chances created. It's a learning curve for us. It's hard to maintain levels, but the first half was as good as we've been for a while.
"We're in good form, we're slowly but surely chalking up wins. You go to any game expecting to get a result. We know it will be tough away to Hearts but we want to make it tough for them as well."
The Scottish Football Social Club is presented by BetSBK.com | 18+ | Gamble Responsibly