Nedim Bajrami: Rangers had to show a reaction in Europe after Kilmarnock defeat
Nedim Bajrami claims Rangers’ players were as angry as their fans following the dismal defeat against Kilmarnock but reached the standard required in their Europa League redemption.
The Light Blues’ players and manager Philippe Clement incurred the wrath of the travelling supporters following the 1-0 loss at Rugby Park last weekend which left them six points behind Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic and Aberdeen.
Rangers responded with a 4-0 win over Romanian outfit FCSB at Ibrox on Thursday night with a double from Vaclav Cerny and strikes from Tom Lawrence and Hamza Igamane to make it six points from nine in the Europa League and inject some positivity back into the club before the visit of St Mirren on Sunday.
Bajrami, the 25-year-old Albania international who joined Rangers from Italian side Sassuolo in August, said: “After Sunday we knew we had to show a reaction, not only for us but also for the fans.
“Not just the fans, the whole team was a little bit angry.
“Thursday night was a big game and we showed a big reaction against a good side and this was important for us, for the coach and for the fans.
“It was a great performance from everyone. So we have to look forward now to Sunday.
“Nobody wants to lose, we always want to win. We showed against FCSB, a big game, we won 4-0 in the Europa League.
“This has to be the standard. But we have to think game by game because we have a lot of games now and everyone has to be ready, every player.
“We have to play every game higher and higher and to try to win every game.”
Bajrami reluctantly pointed at Kilmarnock’s artificial pitch as a mitigating factor for the below-par display last weekend and said Clement’s side went back to basics against FCSB, formerly known as Steaua Bucharest.
He added: “In football there are no excuses, but the pitch there was a difficult pitch for us.
“Back home at Ibrox we showed that we have a lot of qualities, even with young players.
“As I said before we showed a big reaction, everyone was doing a high press, aggressive. We won the duels and in front of the goal we took our chances.
“So no matter who scores, it’s important that we won and we showed the reaction.”
While the pressure turns to keeping in touch with the league leaders against St Mirren, Bajrami insists he is well set to deal with life at Rangers.
The former Grasshoppers and Empoli player: “I know about these expectations because I can play under pressure.
“Even when I play with the national team, even here.
“I’m still young but with a little bit of experience. So for me it’s nice to play in front of these fans.”