RANGERS attacker Sam Lammers is ready to fight for his place in Michael Beale’s team, saying that he expected to face stiff competition to establish himself in the starting XI upon his arrival at Ibrox given the stature of the club.
Lammers got his first goal for Rangers in Allan McGregor’s testimonial match against Newcastle United last week, and showed his flexibility as he was deployed behind strikers Cyriel Dessers and Kemar Roofe towards the end of Saturday’s friendly win over Hamburg.
That adaptability to different roles may help Lammers to gain a regular foothold in manager Beale’s plans, with the Dutchman firmly of the belief that the more of his squad’s attacking weapon that his manager can get on the park at the one time, the better.
“The whole pre-season we have been playing with a lot of offensively minded players, so this is nice,” Lammers said.
“We have to get to know each other on the pitch even better, then I think a lot of good things can happen this season. So, it is exciting.
“At a club like Rangers, there are good players, this is normal. And you can see this season that there are a lot of new arrivals and a lot of players that were here already, so I think in every team you have to work for your place.
“This is normal, this is football, so if you are not ready for that then you are not ready to play for a team like Rangers.
“I want to be important for the team. I want to get the club or the team to a higher level, so this is my goal.”
Lammers said he enjoyed operating in the number 10 role during the weekend win, allowing him to become more involved in the general play and make full use of his skillset.
Much has been made of the lack of goals the forward managed during frustrating loan spells at Serie A strugglers Empoli and Sampdoria last season, but as well as improving on that record, he is eager to show that he possesses other qualities that can be of value to his team.
“I think it’s good [playing there], I can be free to move to the ball in the deep as well, as you saw [in Saturday’s game]”, he said.
“So, it was good and like I said before, we have a lot of offensive options, so we should be flexible to play in different positions.”
Overall, Lammers has been pleased with how Rangers’ pre-season preparations have unfolded, as manager Beale’s reshaped squad starts to come together and develop a greater understanding of one another on the pitch.
There is much work still to be done ahead of the resumption of the Premiership on August 5th, while the draw for the Champions League third qualifying round match that quickly follows will take place in Nyon tomorrow.
Rangers have further friendlies against Olympiacos and Hoffenheim before the big kick-off, and Lammers is confident that they can build on some promising signs against Hamburg and be ready for the competitive action when it comes.
“It was a good game,” he said.
“I think we showed that we have a lot of things to work on as well, but we also showed some good moments, so all-in-all it was ok. It was a good match.
“It is a great atmosphere here. It’s really nice to already have played two times for these fans, and hopefully we can show them some good football this season.
“Like I said, we had some good moments and also a lot of things to improve, but this is what pre-season is all about.”
