WHEN Graham Dorrans boarded the plane to Glasgow, Rangers were still in the Europa League. By the time he landed, they were out - sent packing by Luxembourgish part-timers Progres Niederkorn. No wonder the 30-year-old was asked after his debut on Saturday if he had given consideration, even for an instant, to the merits of turning on his heel and finding the first flight to rejoin his Norwich City team-mates on pre-season in Ireland.
But no, not a bit of it. Dorrans, from Barlanark, is a boyhood Rangers fan who once dreamed of nothing more than playing at Ibrox. The chance to get back there more than 15 years after he graced the youth ranks was far too big to let something like the club’s most embarrassing European results get in the way. “I watched the first game in my house then I watched the first half of the second game on my iPad,” he said. “Then I had to get on the flight to come over so I only saw the result when I landed. Like I said, I was as disappointed as everyone in there [the dressing room]. But it is behind us now. It’s gone. We need to get over it and be ready for the first game in the league.”
The 2017-18 campaign begins with Celtic in a position of immense strength, but don’t tell players with the experience and pedigree of Dorrans that he is here just to make up the numbers. While his was a rather low-key debut against Marseille - save for the mistimed lunge which earned him an early booking and ended Patrice Evra’s participation in the match within minutes - Dorrans for one feels it is realistic for Rangers to win a cup this season then see how things pan out in the Ladbrokes Premiership.
“This football club needs to be winning things,” said Dorrans. “Obviously, last season was disappointing with the number of points behind Celtic. So hopefully we can compete – compete in the cups, hopefully win one of the cups and see what happens in the league. But we definitely need to be more competitive than we were last year, that’s for sure.”
On the subject of last year, you need only look back there for a reminder of the merits of making a fast start to life in the Ladbrokes Premiership. A campaign can quickly unravel without one and it isn’t stretching things too much to say that Rangers’ season could be defined by their first seven matches - Motherwell (away), Hibs (home), Hearts (home), Ross County (away), Dundee (home), Partick Thistle (away), Celtic (home). While interest remains outstanding in the likes of Jamie Walker and Kenny McLean, Dorrans agrees with Pedro Caixinha’s insistence after the 1-1 friendly draw against Marseille that Rangers have enough quality and character to hit the ground running.
“They are all going to be tough games,” said Dorrans. “We are under no illusions. We know that we need to go and win every game. But I can see from training that we have a quality squad capable of going and doing that. I am confident we can push on. A club this size is expected to go and win every game so you need characters and a bit of belief that you can do that. I believe we have that in the dressing room.”
The 30-year-old was happy to get his first appearance under his belt; less so with his own performance. “It was good to be out there,” he said. “I enjoyed it. It wasn’t my best performance personally, but I thought we did really well as a group and a team. We were really solid, with and without the ball. We were comfortable for most of the game. I’m still a bit behind the boys in terms of fitness. They were back a lot earlier than me. But I am getting closer every day in training and hopefully the sharpness will come back as well.
“I was here when I was younger and it’s no secret I have been a fan of the club my full life so for me to get an opportunity to come here is great. Hopefully, I can help progress the club back to where it wants to be. But I think everyone here cares about this club. I have been in the changing room for a couple of weeks now and I can see what it means to everyone. Myself, Bruno and Kenny – the experienced ones – will be in there to help people along.
“There are couple of the boys who aren’t speaking very good English at the minute, but they have teachers and they are learning. I’m sure they will come on with that. We are communicating fine.”
A more quietly impressive debutant on Saturday was Bruno Alves, the club’s new Portuguese central defender. While the 35-year-old endeared himself to his new fans, it was another golden oldie, Niko Kranjcar, who stole the headlines, curling in a sublime 25-yard free-kick which equalised Valere Germain’s opener for the French outfit.
“Bruno will be vital for us,” said Dorrans. “He is an unbelievable figure to come into the squad. He has only been in a couple of days so I am sure he is still getting used to it and getting to know everyone. But I am confident he will be a great asset.”
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