One of the complaints made about recent Rangers signings is how long they have taken to settle in at the club. In the summer, Ridvan Yilmaz and Ben Davies weren’t immediately available and Rabbi Matondo was rarely seen, all players that we had spent decent money on.
This January has been a different matter though with Todd Cantwell and Nicolas Raskin making the sort of impact that you want from new arrivals, only a absence of regular minutes before they signed preventing them from displaying what they are really capable of.
Not only have they adjusted to life in Glasgow quickly but they have also struck up strong relationship already with Raskin explaining, via The Rangers Review, just how easy he has found moving to Glasgow:
“I think everyone is my buddy, Ianis, Rabbi, the team is very close and we all help each other. I couldn’t imagine a better atmosphere.
‘Of course that’s important to help you settle in. If you come over here and you don’t talk to nobody and you don’t laugh it can be difficult when you’re new. I was imagining it to be more difficult [to settle in] than it has been. The boys are very good and I’m very happy.
“We don’t spend so much time together away from training because Todd lives so far away from me.
“We used to play PlayStation together in the afternoon and we pass time together when we are here [at the training centre].
“We are fans of UFC and we were playing UFC. It’s good to have some contact outside the club also. Who wins? Ask Todd who wins…”
Cantwell already comes across as someone who will be a great addition to the squad and has the sort of infectious personality that lifts others around him, as for Raskin, even from his first interview it was clear that he wants to hit the ground running.
Being friends off the park isn’t essential but it will certainly help to build cohesion in a squad that is undergoing a transition and having new blood injected into it – a happy squad usually ends up being a successful squad, although the old mantra of “a team that drinks together, wins together” might not be appropriate in the modern age.