Mohamed Diomande knows the pressure has been on Rangers due to results and performances – but he reckons they are on the right track to bounce back.
Philippe Clement has been under huge scrutiny since the defeat to Aberdeen that left the Light Blues nine points behind Jimmy Thelin’s men and rivals Celtic. He eased some pressure by booking a Premier Sports Cup Final date with Brendan Rodgers’ side after a comeback win over Motherwell at Hampden with a Europa League date at Greek giants Olympiacos next up before Hearts at Ibrox ahead of the November international break.
Andy Halliday opened the scoring for Motherwell against his former club and the out-of-sorts Gers were loudly booed at half-time as they went down the tunnel behind. However, Diomande – who replaced the injured Tom Lawrence – and his colleagues battled back with goals from Cyriel Dessers and Nedim Bajrami to set up the blockbuster December 15 battle.
The midfielder is looking forward to Olympiacos after that crucial win over Stuart Kettlewell’s side as he praised the team for showing a ‘winning mentality’ to bounce back and grab a win from a losing position. He said: “There’s been a lot of pressure. Obviously, we’re not going to hide it.
“And we’ve had poor performances lately but it’s all about bouncing back and I think we are on the right way to get to the level we expect of ourselves and the coaches, also in what the fans expect. So we’re getting there.
“Olympiacos is a big team. But we have also shown that we can win games away from home. And yeah, it’s going to be a tough game but we are going to try get the three points.
“Hard work, determination, and we are going to prepare ourselves to do what the coach says we should do to win the game. It’s confidence for us [Motherwell win], and even though it was hard on Sunday, I’m happy that we showed a winning mentality and we came back to win. And that’s a good way to go into a more difficult game.
“It’s going to be a good feeling, one of those experiences to play in a big stadium like Ibrox. We are all used to that, we are used to the noise and for me personally, it will be an amazing experience to play there.”
Diomande has not always started games in recent weeks but he insists he is ‘ready to step in and give my best for the team’ in whatever role Clement wants him to play. He explained: “It is a healthy competition.
“We are all working hard in training and I’m giving my best to show the coach and to show my team-mates that I am ready for whatever minutes I’m going to get. We are a group, I’m part of the group, and I’m going to give everything I can when I get playing time.”
There are plenty of games to go before the final against Celtic next month but Diomande and his team-mates will be going all out to retain the trophy. He added: “It’s going be a challenge but it’s a long way away so we can’t really focus on that now, but when it comes we are going to be ready to fight. We want to keep the trophy, that’s what you want to do.”
Speaking of Olympiacos, goal hero Kristoffer Velde has sent Rangers a big warning. The Norwegian winger – who cost the Greek giants £5million in the summer from Lech Poznan – is starting to find form after a sluggish start and has netted in his last two outings and hopes to make it lucky number three on Thursday night.
He said: “I am just trying to do my best and help the team. I have scored two goals in a row. Now I want to make it three against Rangers. It has been a difficult period for me since I signed, but this week has been good because of my goals and we needed the points.
“Every game is different and we will have to take a different approach against Rangers. I think we weren’t as intensive perhaps as we should be and we have been gifting too many chances to the opposition recently. I expect Rangers to try and hurt us with counter-attacks and if we are not fully focussed, they can damage us.”