James McFadden bemoans Rangers’ lack of pace against Livingston
Rangers kicked off their Scottish Premiership title defence with a comfortable 3-0 win over Livingston on Saturday afternoon, with goals from Ianis Hagi, Scott Wright and Kemar Roofe securing victory.
It was the perfect way for Steven Gerrard’s men to begin the new domestic campaign, and the players will be going into the Malmo clash on Tuesday in high spirits.
Rangers were not particularly quick with their passing, and Sky Sports pundit James McFadden was not impressed.
The former Scotland international said on Sky Sports during the clash: “It’s too slow from Rangers when they are passing. It has to be quicker!”
Not a problem
It is the first match of the new campaign, so it is only normal for the players to still feel a bit leggy despite their pre-season friendly games.
What really matters at the end of the day is that we picked up all three points in a convincing style, and a message has been sent to Celtic and co.
Rangers are here for title number 56, and nobody will be able to stop us.
Steven Gerrard’s men travel to Malmo for the first-leg of the Champions League third qualifying round on Tuesday, and today’s result was the perfect way to prepare for such a crucial game.
Gerrard would have noticed how slow his players were today, and we need to keep the ball moving faster in both legs against the Swedes.
The attack delivered without stress, though, and we now need them to get the job done against Malmo home and away.
Securing a place in the group stages of the Champions League is the most important thing in the coming days, and we have to get the job done.
Doing so would help boost Rangers’ finances and reputation in Europe, and having impressed in the Europa League in recent seasons, the Light Blues deserve to be playing alongside the continent’s biggest clubs in the elite competition.
We showed that we are capable with that victory over Real Madrid, and the players would definitely be in a confident mood ahead of the qualifiers.
In other Rangers news, player wants Ibrox return in future after 2020 exit, insists he is good enough.