Kris Boyd warns Rangers after ‘extraordinary’ Dortmund result, insists Fashion Sakala must start
Rangers cannot drop points against after the Dortmund excitement during “monumental week” of domestic football says Kris Boyd.
The 4-2 away victory in Germany was followed by a frustrating draw at Dundee United and the former Light Blues striker has warned they cannot make the same mistake as the Scottish Premiership is the “priority”.
Boyd has called for Giovanni van Bronckhorst to turn to his squad to avoid the same come down that followed the first leg, after the 2-2 draw at an exhilarating night at Ibrox on Thursday, and insists Fashion Sakala must start.
Writing in the Scottish Sun, the 38-year-old says: “Finishing top of the pile [in the SFPL] and gaining direct entry to the Champions League, is the be-all and end-all.
“[Dortmund] is an extraordinary result — and there was nothing lucky about it. Yet that display has to be the benchmark for the rest of the campaign.
“Van Bronckhorst didn’t switch it up enough last weekend, and it came back to bite him.
“I would certainly go with Sakala against Well. These players should be champing at the bit to get back involved and show what they are capable of.
“As good as [Thursday] was, that memory now has to be parked. The Premiership has to be the priority.”
Springboard
Boyd is right because Gers were flat last weekend and it saw them concede more ground to Celtic in the title race.
Players should have no problem getting themselves motivated to play on special occasions like the big European nights, especially so in atmospheres like the one at Ibrox this week.
The real challenge lies in dragging another performance out of themselves on comparatively hum-drum occasions following the high.
Players who missed out on Thursday will have been itching to be a part of such a big occasion and need to try to show the manager they deserve to be included next time.
Van Bronckhorst only made one change following the exertions in Dortmund, which was the wrong one as Filip Helander struggled at Tannadice, and although Gers were unlucky with refereeing decisions, they laboured to a draw.
It wasn’t until the introduction of Sakala and Amad Diallo in the second half that the team regained some cutting edge and the responsibility is now on the rest of the squad to maintain the European form against Motherwell.
In other Rangers news, Barry Ferguson says one Light Blue has a major decision to make after the Dortmund game.