RANGERS are setting out to cause teams mayhem game after game, Joe Aribo has revealed.
The midfielder was sublime against Dundee on Saturday. He scored the first of the match to set Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s team on their way to a big 3-0 win at Ibrox in his first home Premiership game since becoming manager.
The victory maintained his 100 per cent record since taking charge in the dugout.
It was perhaps Rangers’ most complete performance of the season to date. It wasn’t always rock and roll, with a lot of patient build-up play evident particularly in the first half.
However, Aribo has revealed that van Bronckhorst is instructing his players to go and cause opposition defenders mayhem in a bid to confuse them.
By doing so, Aribo believes Rangers are sending out a statement to rest of the league – and he wants to continue making them.
He said: “First and foremost we’re buzzing with the result. We’re happy with the performance too.
“We knew how important it was to start fast, try get as many goals as possible and we’re pleased that we managed to do that.
“He’s come in, asked us to play with his style. It’s taken a little bit of time to get used to but the boys are happy with it.
“I’ve always said that I want to improve on my numbers and leave my impact on the game. It’s good I’ve managed to do that lately. I want to keep pushing on.
“I’ve never really thought about what is my best position. I’ve just been happy to do what the manager wants me to do in this role.
“I’m really enjoying playing a bit further forward and trying to chip in with more goals.
“He (Gio) has got a lot of us running forwards to cause mayhem because then there’s a lot of bodies around that area. It causes confusion for the defenders.
“It’s very important to be flexible. You never know where another team’s weakness is so whether you have to play one role or another, it’s massively important.
“Every day the boys are improving and wanting to show the manager what we’re capable of.
“We want to score as many goals as we can. We wanted to send a statement out to the rest of the league. Hopefully we can continue doing that.
“We’ve had to stick together, we always do that. What the manager is saying to us, we trust in his process.
“You have to shoot in football matches because you never know what can happen. I got lucky with the deflection, if you don’t shoot then you won’t score.
“It’s so important to firstly, trust yourself as a player, and then secondly trust your team-mates. You trust the gaffer and everything he says.”
Team-mate Fashion Sakala was another standout performer at the weekend. The No.30 was a constant livewire throughout the encounter and will have been delighted with his performance.
The only thing that was missing was a goal to add to his tally for the campaign. Had it not been for Dundee keeper Adam Legzdins producing some fine saves, he would’ve been celebrating in front of the Ibrox faithful.
Aribo was asked about what it’s like to play with him. His answer was short, but his level of admiration for Sakala was clear.
He smiled and said: “He’s very good. He’s got unreal dribbling ability, getting at his man. He’s a handful all game.”
Rangers now turn their attentions to a huge game on Thursday night as they travel to face Lyon in the final Europa League Group A tie.
Aribo added: ““We know how big a game it is. We need to stick together and listen to the manager. Whatever he thinks is going to get us over the line, that’s what we have to take into the game with our game plan.”
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