Expert: Rangers may have been forced into behind-closed-doors deal after ‘dramatic’ development
Rangers may have been forced to strike a deal to play another behind-closed-doors friendly to compensate for the 45 minutes lost against Sunderland because of floodlight failure.
That is the view of medical expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in injury and data analysis.
Rangers trailed 1-0 to Sunderland at half-time in Portugal earlier this month (9 July) before the floodlights cut out.
The Glasgow giants later released a statement that confirmed fans who had bought tickets or streaming passes were entitled to a refund.
Rangers, who begin their 2022-23 campaign away to Livingston next Saturday, pencilled in six pre-season friendlies in total as part of a rigorous fitness-building programme.
Dinnery claims that losing a fraction of that to floodlight failure will not come as a major blow as they can organise a new match against a different side.
“The last two or three years has taught us to be fluid with our thinking and planning,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams
“There’s a lot of flexibility in terms of how things can be done. These blocks of 45 minutes are integral to pre-season but we have seen coaches in the Premier League adapt to matches being cancelled before.
“Conte did it with Spurs when their game against Burnley was cancelled last season. It was straight back to the training pitches.
“You can have behind-closed-doors friendly and internal games. It’s good to have competitive friendlies but there are ways’to adjust when something dramatic like this happens.
In other news, Alex McLeish issues verdict on Rangers selling Glen Kamara as ‘cracker’ deal is agreed