Steven Gerrard and Dietmar Kuhbauer have likely never met. But the Rangers manager isn’t fazed about what the unknown Austrian will bring to the table on Thursday night.
Rangers host Rapid Vienna at Ibrox in a game that’s a must-win for the Gers in their Europa League campaign. A victory for Steven Gerrard’s men will see them go three points clear at least in the race for qualification.
Preparations you would’ve expected should’ve gone up in the air when Rapid switched managers this week. The much-maligned Goran Djuricin was replaced by the unknown Austrian manager Kuhbauer. Despite having a huge reputation in Austria, he hasn’t managed anywhere outside of his own country.
Yet Gerrard isn’t fazed by any potential surprises that Kuhbauer and Vienna could bring. Speaking ahead of the game, Gerrard had this to say on the new-manager bounce.
“Expect a reaction”
“We expect a reaction from them because they’ve just appointed a good manager who got his previous team second in the league before he moved to Rapid. Normally at any club if you get a new manager you get that fresh start as a player and a group. So we expect a very strong Rapid Vienna performance.
“In terms of tactics and how they’re going to approach it, we’ve done some work on his previous team and we’ve obviously covered a lot of Rapid’s games.
“But I’m not sure if he has taken full control or is letting his assistants take some responsibility.
“He’s only had two training sessions so the players will have to think fast on their feet and be prepared to adapt as we go. This is a level we all wanted to be involved in and judge ourselves in. It’s a fantastic challenge and opportunity for my players to show Rapid how good a team we are at home.”
No Rapid surprise
It’s reassuring for Rangers fans to hear work has been done on the new manager. Rangers, therefore, should have a good idea of what to expect from Rapid when they come to Ibrox. We also had our own stab at what to expect from Kuhbauer’s Vienna this Thursday night.
It’s not something Rangers should be overly-focusing on in truth. In the main, it’s just something to be wary of. The Gers should be confident of beating the Austrians regardless of who’s in charge – particularly at Ibrox.
Rangers have been in fine home form this season. Under Gerrard, they’ve never been beaten at Ibrox, and have won all bar one of their Ibrox matches. That one winless match was against Osijek in the 1-1 draw back before the season began.
Gerrard will know all too well how new managers can affect their sides. He worked under plenty at Liverpool, and will have a strong understanding of what the Rapid players are going through. Vienna won’t have the time to get used to a new style and formation in the space of a couple of days.
A victory would put Gerrard’s men in a terrific position. With Rapid still recovering from their crisis, this is a great chance to really take a big step towards qualification.
