James Sands feels Ibrox creates a ‘very different’ challenge to when Rangers are playing on the road as each match in Scotland offers a different test, via quotes by The Scottish Sun.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst took the midfielder to Glasgow this January after sealing an 18-month loan with New York City. The Gers also have an option to buy Sands, who has so far only held a sporadic presence with the Premiership giants across his first six appearances.
Just two of the 21-year-old’s outings to date have come in league fixtures, with two in the Europa League and two in the Scottish Cup. He has also only started four games, and has not appeared in a top-flight encounter since January with eight outings as an unused sub.
Sands made his latest appearance in the Rangers engine room as Van Bronckhorst’s side beat Dundee on Sunday. The American anchored the core beside Ryan Jack and kept his play simple to good effect. He also helped to prevent the Dee building much momentum.
Sands feels Ibrox poses ‘very different’ challenge to away Rangers matches
Sands’ appearance in Rangers’ Scottish Cup win at Dundee marked his fourth appearance so far away from home, as well. Only a 15-minute cameo against Red Star Belgrade in the Europa League and his most recent Premiership outing against Livingston came at Ibrox.
His first few months in Scotland have served as a learning opportunity for the New York-native, however. Despite rarely featuring, the seven-cap USMNT ace is increasingly aware that the Gers face vastly different challenges on the road than when sides visit Glasgow.
“You need to try and understand that in Scottish football you have so many types of different games,” Sands said.
“The matches you play at Ibrox are very different to the ones you play away from home. Different things are required in the games, and I knew going to Dundee it would be a physical match and there would be a lot of challenges.”
Sands could face a struggle to continue earning minutes in the Scottish Cup after Rangers drew Celtic in the semi-final. Van Bronckhorst has so far mostly only opted to afford the NYCFC loanee opportunities to feature when rotating at least parts of his Gers line-up.
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