THE THOUGHTS OF THE RANGERS MANAGER
QPRCLUBCALL 09068 121 162 [CALLS COST 60P PER MINUTE AT ALL TIMES]
Good evening
everybody and
welcome back to
Loftus Road for this
prestigious friendly
against Dutch
champions Ajax. I would like to take
this opportunity to welcome Ronald
Koeman, the Ajax Directors and players,
and everyone else who has travelled
from the Netherlands to be here this
evening. I hope you have an enjoyable
time during your visit to England.
Naturally, it is very exciting to be given
this opportunity to play against one of
Europe's great club sides. This game will
allow my players to test themselves
against technically gifted opponents
and I am looking forward to seeing how
we fare. Nevertheless, this game is also
another step in our pre-season
programme and I will be paying close
attention to the squad's fitness as
we move nearer to the start of the
Coca Cola Championship season on
August 7th.
It is still early days, and there is plenty
more work to be done, but I expect the
players to have made considerable
progress from the day we returned for
pre-season training. Tonight's game will
show us exactly how far we have come.
Since we returned after the summer
break we have enjoyed a very
productive tour to Scotland. As you may
be aware, we were based at RAF
Kinloss and took part in a rigorous
week of training organised by our
Fitness Coach Scott Rushton and RAF
Kinloss Warrant Officer Geoff Hancocks.
I cannot thank Geoff enough for his
efforts and for making the whole squad
feel so welcome. He was there for us
throughout and without him, none of
this would have been possible.
Thanks Geoffl
The week itself included rock climbing,
assault courses, 6.30am swims,
orienteering and of course; two games.
Our first, against Nairn County, was a
satisfactory run-out ending in a 3-0
victory. We then took on SPL side
Inverness Caledonian Thistle and whilst
we didn't perform well in the first half,
we were much improved after the
interval and grabbed a deserved draw.
We learned a lot from both games
and the whole week was a very
worthwhile exercise.
So now, this is our first game back at
Loftus Road since we achieved
promotion and the new season is nearly
upon us. I, for one, cannot wait to get
started and for the fresh challenges that
await. We can expect a step up in class
and I am looking forward to seeing how
my players cope with the better quality
they come up against.
Last season we were expected to win
games all the time. This year it will be
different and, although I am hopeful
that we can hold our own at this new
level, I hope that supporters'
expectation does not get out of hand.
We have another very tough season in
store and this evening's game is
building towards it. It is an example of
the hard work and meticulous
preparation that we all putting in ahead
of the big kick off in 17 days time.
Come on you Rrrrrssss!
