“Done really well” – every word ex-Celt Ange said about Rangers | OneFootball

Are you looking forward to a big game?

It’s obviously significant for a couple of reasons. When the draw came out it was the one that was of most interest to me because of my history up here. Looking forward to it, it should be a good game, and in the context of where we are in Europe, an important game, an important game for both clubs. A positive result gets you a good way to getting through to the knockout stages so looking forward to it.

Are you expecting a certain atmosphere?

When I was up here, particularly my first year, they made the Europa League final so I’ve got a pretty clear idea of how challenging it is to play them here in front of that crowd, with the atmosphere, but at the same time, it’s exciting. You look forward to big games and I’m sure the players are as well.

What are you expecting from Rangers?

Probably their domestic season in the league has not gone as well as they would’ve liked but you can tell there’s still the elements of quality there, they’re in the cup final at weekend and done really well in Europe.

For us it’s a one-off game and in one-off games you’re always looking to see how teams perform when they’re at their best. At their best, they’ve shown they’re still a good outfit and a good challenge for us.

Do you have to warn players of the atmosphere?

It’s part of the experience. We played Galatasaray in the last away game and that was a pretty decent atmosphere as well. We’ve got a young team at the moment and and the more we can expose them to games like this the better it will serve us moving forward.

If we get through to the knockout rounds, they’re the kind of games where is going to be a pretty hot atmosphere and you’ve got to be able to handle that and look forward to it as well because you want to play in games like that.

How are the injuries?

Not much better to be fair… obviously with the weekend’s fall-out Romero and Van De Ven, we’re still getting some clarity around their prognosis, but both have picked up injuries that will keep them out again.

That’s disappointing for us because we’re thin on numbers but we’ve had to deal with that for quite a while now. Everyone else from the weekend got through OK. Bentancur is obviously available so at least we get him back.

Will Romero be out for six weeks?

At the moment we’re still getting more information on both the guys and I wouldn’t put any time line on it yet.

How frustrating is it?

It’s challenging. We’ve also got Ben Davies out who played a big part while the other two have been out. It’s no secret we’re thin on numbers both squad wise and position wise. But it is what is, we can’t change that, we’ve got some big games coming up starting tomorrow. We’ll have to deal with what we’ve got. I’m still confident we’ll be able to get the job done with players at our disposal.

Does it bring back memories of the derby and what kind of reception are you expecting?

I think you know what kind of reception I’ll get. I loved it. It was a different experience, it was mixed. The first one here we lst and the next one with only 500 or 600 in the building we won and that was pretty special. I’ve enjoyed all the games against Rangers, all the derbies, they’re big games here in Scotland and usually very significant games. They’re either title deciders or cuip knockouts so they’re always big games and I enjoyed them all and enjoyed the atmosphere. European nights here are going to be something you want to be a part of it.

Has Van de Ven suffered the same hamstring injury again?

It’s the same side. Whether it’s the same one, we’ve just got to get clarity on whether it’s exactly the same spot or a new spot.

Is this the worst injury crisis you’ve ever faced?

Yeah, yeah by a fair stretch.

Is it just bad luck or do you have to look at other factors?

I never think it’s just bad luck. Some of it. I’ve never lost a goalkeeper for this period of time. Some of the other issues that we’ve had… But some of it is recurring, particularly this year in terms of guys coming back and re-injuring. It’s something we’re looking at. We’re always trying to explore whether we can do things better. Last year was different to this year. Last year it hit us across the board. This year it’s more guys that are coming back who are affected. Knock on wood, we’ve got a core group who are playing a lot and are getting through it ok. But it is something we are trying to address.

Cristian Romero came out after the game and backed you while criticising the club’s hierarchy, what did you make of his comments?

In the context of the day, Cristian was really disappointed obviously. More than disappointed in that he’d worked hard to get back, it was a big game for obviously, he knew that, and he had to go off and then watch the team have to feel the pain of another defeat in the manner it happened. He was obviously very emotional. He’s a leader in the club, he hasn’t been able to help us, I think it was his way of trying to as a leader help us in the group. We’re going through a tough time and he believes in what we’re doing. And then the other part of it probably he went about it the wrong way. He’s passionate about having success at the club and the way he expressed it was not the right way in a public sense. I don’t feel and it’s certainly not my belief that our challenges at the moment are down to one thing or one person, I don’t believe that, I never have believed that. Whatever we need to do, we have the power to do that but it’ll only happen if we stay united as a group particularly through difficult times, get through to the other side. I fully believe if you can do that, you come out stronger. Cristian realises what he said…a lot of what he said was good, some wasn’t right and shouldn’t have been done in public. We deal with these things in our own four walls. There’s always issues we need to deal with. The same way I wouldn’t criticise a player or anyone else, we shouldn’t be doing that in a public sense.

Will there be any repercussions for Cristian?

I just think you deal with these things internally. I just don’t think there’s any benefit for us. I know people get really salacious about punishments and stuff. They really love that sort of thing. I think I’m pretty consistent in saying I don’t just think that’s important. I think what’s more important is an understanding of how we should deal with these things and deal with them better.

I’ve already spoken to Cristian about it and and you know, he’s apologised for the fact that the way he said it, particularly in the public sense, wasn’t the right way to go about things. He’s a human being, he got emotional and I think he just expressed what he wanted to express, probably in the wrong way.

He does care. I think it would have been easy for him not to say anything. He does care, but there’s a way to do these things and a way to express yourself and the way he did it wasn’t the right way.

Is Archie Gray going to play at centre-back, is there chance Yves Bissouma players there, I guess you’re going to have to get creative?

Yeah (laughs), I have to get creative. I think Archie’s probably the one for us at the moment that we need to try and get to fill in there. He’s done right back, left back for us. Had to play at centre-back a little bit this year, he did during the pre-season. With him and Radu, they’re the two main sort of defenders. We’ve still got five or six games to navigate, so we may have to get creative at at some point and deal with it in a different way.

Cristian said ‘we need to imitate Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool’, is that completely unrealistic for Tottenham though in terms of strength?

Well, it depends in what respect. We know there are things that we can compete with. I don’t think it’s just about finances, you know? I think, yes, finances, where the club kind of sits, we know there’s a gap, but not between just us, with most clubs and some of those clubs.

So we understand that, but within that context, I don’t think it doesn’t mean you can’t be competitive in your own way. I think what Cristian was kind of talking about, and it’s what I believe as well, is that we should aim to think like those clubs and try to be successful every year.

I think the other thing that he did say quite clearly is that it does have the elements of being a big club, you know, it has the infrastructure, it has the stadium, it has the support. So it’s very easy to point the finger of blame about one thing, but also you’ve got to acknowledge that these things are there as well, because other clubs are endeavouring to do that.

Some still have that journey ahead, It’s just the way I kind of think. I just don’t think that it’s one thing that will get us to where we want to, and I don’t think there’s one thing that’s stopping us from getting to where we want to.

I’m certainly as ambitious as everyone else is at the football club since I’ve been here to bring success. That means taking on and trying to beat the teams that in some respects have extra resources, but we can find different ways of of bridging that gap.

On the game and the atmosphere, do you relish walking into the bear pit? Do you like it? Does it bring out more of you?

I don’t know if it brings out more of me. I mean, I’m like anyone else, I like a bit of love every now and then, mate. But I do enjoy that. I always kind of reflect and, you know, we’ve all lived it is that once you experience football in empty stadiums, you realise how meaningless it is.

I felt through that whole period, that Covid period, it was meaningless. So I would win games, as much as you go it could be hostile tomorrow, but yeah that’s what we love about the game. That’s what brings it to life.

Ultimately, it is a game evokes passions and emotions. Sometimes that’s not always positive. Like every human being you’d love it to be positive, but it’s not gonna happen. You definitely want that as opposed to playing a game in somewhere sterile where you don’t have that.

Transcription credit: Alisdair Gold