DANNY Röhl says it is crucial Rangers head into this weekend’s Old Firm derby with belief and trust as they bid for a place in the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup.
For the second time in 7 days, Ibrox will host the derby on Sunday, and following the 2-2 draw in the league, the head coach insists his team have been focused on what they can improve this weekend.
Speaking to the press at this morning’s pre-match press conference, Röhl said: “We have to look back at the last game, see what was good, what we have to improve and then prepare for the next game, that is our job.
“We spoke about the good things, we spoke about the things we must improve, and the last training session was good, there was a good intensity, a good mindset and everyone was focused.
“Today, we will work on some details again and then we will have one more session. We have to go into the game with the belief and with trust, this is very crucial.
“For the first 50 minutes, you will know better than me, when the last time was that Rangers dominated Celtic like that and that is the focus of what we want to do over the 90 minutes, and if necessary 120.”
With a 2-0 lead at half-time in last week’s league fixture, Röhl was asked if the belief had been dented with an injury time equaliser. He continued: “Not really, we are still in a title race, of course we were disappointed after the late equaliser. We know we have to improve, especially in the second-half.
“We had a big chance for 3-0. And then we would not speak about this, but football is football and it is about decision making. It is about focus and what we can influence, and I see a group who are ready to go again and also have the belief that we can beat them.”
The head coach revealed he has a full squad training this week with Connor Barron returning, and knows he faces some big decisions when it comes to Sunday’s quarter-final.
He said: “We have a full house training, and everyone is nearly back. We have small issues with Mikey [Moore] but I think he will be okay for the weekend.
“There are a lot of players available and there are some tough decisions. It is not just the line-up, it is who is in the squad, and I have to make my decisions tomorrow after the training.
“Three weeks ago, we had a midweek game nearly every week, and there is a moment where you will come in but now this is crucial and this is why you have to deliver during the week to get a position in the squad. And then you have to deliver to get a place in the starting line-up and it is a challenge for us all.
“It shows where we are as a group and the direction we are going in and we have to stick together.”
When asked about the pressure around this weekend’s fixture and the search for silverware, Röhl said: “My own pressure is always high because I want to be successful, I want to win something, I want to bring the club forward to win titles.
“We still have two good opportunities to do something, it is again a game where in 90 minutes or 120 minutes I think it is on for both teams.
“We are focused, we know that we can do it, and we go into this game with a positive mindset. Pressure in football is normal, every manager has pressure, it doesn't matter where you are. We know our club is special, but it is also a big honour to be manager of such a fantastic club.”
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