Pedro Caixinha’s Glasgow Rangers get a warning regarding the match against Marseille by Celtic fan and radio presenter Alan Brazil.
Former Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United forward Alan Brazil, who is a Celtic fan, has suggested in The Sunday Post that Rangers cannot afford to suffer a heavy defeat to Marseille in the upcoming pre-season friendly match.
Scottish Premiership club Rangers will take on Ligue 1 outfit Marseille at Ibrox this coming Saturday afternoon.
The Gers have had to arrange pre-season friendly games at short notice due to their failure to progress in the Europa League.
Pedro Caixinha’s side recently lost their Europa League qualifying first round 2-1 on aggregate to Luxembourg minnows Progres Niederkorn.
Rangers will also face Sheffield Wednesday, who feature in the Championship in England, on July 30 in another friendly game.
Former Tottenham and United forward Brazil, who now works as a presenter on talkSPORT and recently admitted in The Sunday Post that he is red-hot Celtic fan, has warned Rangers about suffering a heavy defeat to Marseille, who finished fifth in Ligue 1 last season and have well-known players such as Dimitri Payet, Patrice Evra and Luiz Gustavo.
Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha
“Potential opponents wouldn’t put plans in place to play Rangers on the off-chance they crashed out of Europe,” Brazil wrote in The Sunday Post.
“Now the club have moved to implement a hastily-arranged Plan B. They’re hosting Marseille on Saturday and travel to Sheffield Wednesday a week before their opening Premiership fixture at Motherwell.
“Yes, these matches are better than closed-doors games at the training ground – but could backfire if Caixinha’s team suffer more demoralising defeats.
“Marseille have quality players like Patrice Evra and Dimitri Payet, and finished fifth in the high-quality French league last season.
“Match fitness is important, but it might have been as beneficial to the squad for Rangers to get away for a week.”
General view of Ibrox
Brazil has also suggested that Rangers will not be able to challenge Old Firm rivals Celtic for the Scottish Premiership title next season.
The Gers finished third in the league table last season, while Brendan Rodgers’s side won the title without losing a single game.
“Rather than challenging Celtic for the title, it looks like Rangers will again be battling with Aberdeen for second spot,” Brazil wrote in The Sunday Post.
“Pedro Caixinha needs a great start to the season if he is to keep his job. You have to wonder if this rather chaotic pre-season will help his cause.”
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