TIME is a word often associated with Niko Kranjcar these days for a multitude of reasons.
At 32-years-old, the Croatian certainly has plenty of it still left on his side. However, it is what he does with it that is of great importance to Pedro Caixinha as he attempts to squeeze more minutes and seconds out of the former Spurs man in a light blue shirt.
To try and put into context the struggle of Kranjcar, turning the clock back is a must. When he first arrived at Rangers a year ago from New York Cosmos he was far from fit, barely managing an hour per game before his legs and lungs gave out. Slow progress was eventually being made as his influence grew steadily, only for a cruciate ligament injury in October to sideline him for the rest of the season after just nine Premiership matches.
Now nine months on, the flickers of talent from the creative midfielder were sparking once again on Thursday night. Against Progres Niederkkorn in the first leg of Rangers’ Europa League first round qualifier, Kranjcar was the clear man of the match. From the off he linked well with debutant Dacio, was composed on the ball under extreme pressure and switched the ball effortlessly with the swipe of his right foot. Well, he did for 68 minutes until he was withdrawn from play spent.
Given such a lengthy period out, Caixinha knows he must play a patient game with one of, if not, the most naturally talented player in his squad. However, the Rangers manager is conscious a key to progression to not just the group stage of the Europa League, but a prosperous season in general, may well hinge on tipping the balance for the Croat towards more game time.
“I’m trying to understand the time he can perform – not only one hour,” said the Portuguese. “He had such a long absence after such a difficult injury so to be back at this level it really demonstrates his mentality and his quality and his desire to help the team.
“It’s just a question of time and he needs a little bit more time but the quality is always present. If he gives me that for one hour in every match from now until the end of the season I will be happy.
“I’m not worrying about his recovery time or that of the team in general because that’s what happens. Sometimes you play after three days, five days or seven days.
“One thing that we can never buy is time. So we are fighting against it. We are trying to get physicality to compete and we are just three weeks in. If you add in that one player has been absent for nine months, then it makes it even more difficult. Let’s give time.
“We know we have players we can count on, so we just need to understand the moment they are at now and make the best decision to have the players starting the match and also know we have players on the bench who can decide games.
“It’s the problem for the doubters, not me or Niko. I don’t care about it as long as when he is on the park he gives me everything. We have more options for that position and we can manage to have quality in one or two players over the 90 minutes performing in that position.”
To be fair, central midfield doesn’t look like being a major concern for Caixinha as the recruits continue to flood in. What was a major issue last season now looks no more with the arrival of Ryan Jack, Dalcio, Daniel Candeias and potentially Kenny McLean. There may be scope for others to work around the talented Kranjcar.
That is plan that will develop through time. Right now, the objective of getting beyond Niederkorn is unshakable. The Luxembourg outfit were far from world beaters in Glasgow on Thursday. A limited side, they provided a stuffy barrier that stifled Rangers’ creativity in the main, leaving just a solitary Kenny Miller goal dividing the teams going into Tuesday.
Despite the narrow margin, Caixinha remains calm.
“While it will be a completely different environment from what they experienced at Ibrox, that’s not the point and we don’t need to be concerned about it,” he said of the modest Stade Josy Barthel. “We only have one thought about the second leg – winning. It’s only one match and all we want to do is get through.
“If I was in their position I would think the same. I don’t think they will change the strategy they brought to the first leg. But what matters is the final result of the tie – not if we could have or should have scored more.
“We need to know how to deal with it. It’s going to be a fantastic challenge and we know it will be similar to what we faced at Ibrox.The pressure is on us, totally.
“I think they played with adrenalin because of the environment – maybe they had the game of a lifetime. I know what that represents because these things can sometime help you get to the other level. That’s what they are going to try to do in the next match. We respect that and we expect that.
“We have a responsibility from our side to deal with that because we have a vision and a mission to get to the group stage and, of course, to get there we need to pass this stage first.”
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