The legendary captain and former interim manager wants his club to tell the world they mean business in a game that’s a dead rubber
06:00, 21 Jan 2026Updated 12:31, 21 Jan 2026
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Don’t listen to anyone who tries to tell you that this next 90 minutes in Rangers’ season doesn’t matter.
Yes, they may have made heavy weather of this season’s Europa League campaign and, true, Danny Rohl and his team have bigger fish to fry when Dundee visit Ibrox on Sunday on a day when the title race could pick up even more momentum.
So I can completely understand why some people may float the idea that a Thursday night group game against Ludogorets is nothing more than a dead-rubber and an unwanted distraction from the main event unfolding on their own doorstep.
It’s just that I would politely disagree with each and every one of them.
Forget all about resting players for the weekend or giving game time to some of the guys who have been left on the fringes of the first team since the new manager took charge and began overseeing a dramatic upturn in domestic results.
Go full strength, send out your strongest starting XI.
In an ideal world I’m sure the manager would want to give the home crowd a taste of what they can expect from latest signings Andreas Skov Olsen and Tochi Chukwuani – and give the new boys a chance to get used to the environment.
But it looks like UEFA’s registration rules will make that impossible.
Most of all, though, he’ll want to use this game as a chance to build on all the good things that have been done over the festive period, laying down a marker for what he hopes to achieve in the second half of the season.
Andreas Skov Olsen has joined Rangers on loan from Wolfsburg(Image: )
And send out a very clear message: ‘Rangers are back – and we’re coming for you.’
So please don’t make the mistake of thinking Thursday night is nothing more than a waste of everyone’s time. This meeting with Ludogrets can be a launchpad for what lies ahead.
It’s also an opportunity to right some of the wrongs from earlier this season which have left my old club sitting in 33rd position out of 36 on the European stage with just one point from a possible 18 and without posting a single win.
And even though there is no hope of turning it around and reaching the knock-out stages at this late stage in the day, these players simply can’t allow themselves to think that this campaign has been even close to acceptable.
So get back out there, three more points on the board for the first time and play with the kind of professional pride that the badge demands.
The last thing any of these guys should want is to end the group stages stuck at the bottom of the table and, for the time being, that remains a possibility.
Next week it’s Porto away and that’s a tough fixture at the best of times.
I realise the focus is on the home front and with Celtic heading to Tynecastle on Sunday it adds another bit of spice to the fixture list as at least one of them will come out of the weekend having dropped more points.
But that’s only of any use for Rangers if they are continuing to win their own games and a victory over the Bulgarians will just help to add to the feel good factor and momentum going into the visit of a Dundee side which has been on the up itself over the last few weeks.
That’s another reason for getting Skov Olsen and Chukwuani settled into the team at the earliest opportunity.
I know the fans will be excited about getting a first look at Skov Olsen in particular. I’m excited about this one myself if I’m being honest.
As I wrote here previously, the deal to get him in on loan from Wolfsburg is reminiscent of the agreement between the two clubs which brought Vaclav Cerny to Ibrox 18 months ago – the one that got away.
If Skov Olsen can make the same kind of impact then the supporters are going to love him and that’s before you think about the contributions made to this club by Peter Lovenkrands and, of course, Brian Laudrup.
Brian Laudrup in action for Rangers(Image: )
I listened to Skov Olsen’s press conference on Friday and he sounds like someone who really wants to be here. He said everything you want to hear from a new arrival and obviously he also talked about his own discussions with Laudrup before accepting the offer.
Brian obviously gave Rangers a glowing reference and that may have helped tip the balance if there were other options on the table.
The idea of having another highly rated, experienced Danish international running the wing in a Rangers shirt was always going to capture the imagination of the club’s supporters.
I do believe there could be more to follow before the window closes with perhaps one or two further additions to beef up the manager’s starting options.
With Tuur Rommens also signed up Rangers have already strengthened in areas that needed strengthening and now they have enough time left to exploit the market and bring in whatever quality reinforcements might become available.
The injury to Connor Barron comes as a real blow because he’ll be a big loss over the next couple of months. He was growing in confidence and stature every time I saw him play.
So that’s another part of the pitch where the manager might want some extra cover and there is even talk of going for another option up front depending on what transpires in terms of plays going out the way in the next couple of weeks.
So this feels like the ideal time to make a real push on and off the pitch, continue the recent run of good form and results and make the most of what remains of the transfer market.
The key word from here on in is going to be ‘relentlessness’. And that starts at kick-off time against Ludogrets under the lights.
OK, the ship may have sailed for Rangers in terms of European competition for the season. But the journey towards the domestic finishing line starts right now. And, believe me when I say, every game matters.
