Rohl on injury 'never-ending story', new signings & winning run
Rohl says Rangers injuries are 'never-ending story'
- Published
Rangers manager Danny Rohl has been speaking to the media before the trip to face Aberdeen in the Premiership on Sunday.
Here are the key points:
On mounting injury issues, Rohl said it was a "never-ending story" and confirmed midfielder Connor Barron will be sidelined for up to three months with knee ligament damage sustained in the midweek 2-0 home win over Aberdeen.
Dujon Sterling will also be out with a muscle issue for two to three weeks after working his way back from long term injury.
"This is football" Rohl said. "Always when you have a team together and you try to grow and give them confidence and you can make the same starting 11, then you have new injuries. I think in the last couple of weeks we did well. We found again a solution and this is again for Sunday what we have to do."
On the loss of Barron: "I think it's not just the player. I think also the relationship with Nico [Raskin] was very special. Then in the last two games you saw as well Dio [Mohamed Diomande]. These three midfielders were very strong. They dictate the rhythm. They won a lot of balls and this is what we of course miss. But it's time then for maybe other players to step in and take the responsibility."
Rohl refused to confirm deals for reported signings Westerlo left-back Tuur Rommens and Sturm Graz midfielder Tochi Chukwuani, but is hopeful of arrivals before Sunday's game.
"I cannot confirm yet because you never know what happens in the next 24 hours," he said. "We are in a good way. We are looking at some other positions as well, but let's do the first job with the first two players and then let's see what we can do next."
The German was keen to point out his current squad have taken a lot of points without new signings but stressed they have to be "hungry and ambitious" in the transfer market.
On the challenge of Aberdeen: "We are really involved in a title race and I think this is fantastic. From this point we have to continue. This is crucial because four wins is good in a row but five wins in a row is much, much better. They [Aberdeen] will be a different opponent to Tuesday because the environment, the stadium, the atmosphere will be different to Tuesday. They will challenge us."
Defender Nasser Djiga is available for the game at Pittodrie after returning from Africa Cup of Nations duty with Burkina Faso.
