Rangers beat Stranraer 3-0 at Ibrox on Monday evening.
Rangers manager Mark Warburton
Rangers manager Mark Warburton has told the Glasgow Evening Times that Niko Kranjcar is fine despite suffering a rough challenge against Stranraer.
The Gers had made a superb start to their Scottish League Cup campaign with wins over Motherwell, Annan Athletic and East Stirlingshire, and went into Monday’s game with Stranraer with three clean sheets in a row too.
Jordan Rossiter in action for Liverpool
On Monday, Rangers again picked up a win and a clean sheet in the League Cup as they swept Stranraer aside in a thumping victory at Ibrox.
Martyn Waghorn’s early penalty set Rangers on their way, and last season’s top goalscorer added a second shortly after as Warburton’s men proved their dominance.
Summer signing Niko Kranjcar then grabbed his first goal for the club having signed from New York Cosmos, though there was a slight concern over the Croatian.
Niko Kranjcar warms up
Kranjcar received a rash challenge from Stranraer’s Ryan Thomson late in the game, and some Rangers fans were concerned about a potential injury – but manager Warburton told the Glasgow Evening Times that he thinks Kranjcar will be okay, but did note that the playmaker still needs to work on his fitness having tired.
Warburton also spoke about another summer signing, as midfielder Jordan Rossiter made his first appearance for Rangers since his move from Liverpool, coming on as a second half substitute – and Warburton believes Rangers need his battling qualities in the middle of the park.
“He’s fiery, he can look after the football and won’t shy away from anything. We need that ruggedness in midfield,” said Warburton when asked about Rossiter.
“It was a bad tackle but he got up, so he’s fine touch wood. You don’t play 80 caps for Croatia, he can look after himself don’t worry about that. That was a bad tackle but we move on from it. Niko was good tonight, he got through the 90 although he tired after 75 minutes but he’s working on that,” he added on Kranjcar.
What did you think of Rossiter and Kranjcar’s displays against Stranraer?
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