It’s all fine and well having α game plan until the opposition stick α free-kick into the top corner five minutes after the first whistle and everything goes to pot.
It’s ten times worse when the team you are playing were Champions League finalists last season.
Rangers performance at Anfield was as disappointing as it was understandable given the circumstances, however, one man keen to make amends is John Lundstram, as reported by The Rangers Review:
“If we want to get something from the group you could say it is probably a must-win. I think if we get a result and then we have two massive games, especially the one at Ibrox against Ajax.
“We went to Anfield trying to get a result and this game is the same. We will come out the traps, with everyone behind us and we will try to put the pressure on them.
“We want to start quickly. We tried to do that at Anfield but they had the backing there and it is a tough place to go as everyone in world football knows.
“Hopefully, with everyone behind us we can do something special.”
Lundstram is right, however, actions speak louder than words and the Rangers players will need to rediscover the form that got us to the Europa League final last season.
Ibrox will be α factor but it works both ways. Last season, the crowd fed off early goals and αn intensity that had rarely been seen before – and it was happening every game.
There is still more than pride potentially at stake, α good result would also do more than give us α confidence boost.
It will take something “special” to beat Liverpool, but special is exactly what this Rangers team made the norm last season.