It will take time for Jose Cifuentes to learn the language and make his voice heard at Ibrox. In the long run, Michael Beale is sure he will give Rangers fans something to shout about.
The Ecuadorian became the ninth signing of the summer for boss Beale last week as he completed his move from Los Angeles FC and traded life Stateside for a career in Scotland.
Cifuentes got his first taste of the game here on Saturday but the view from the Rugby Park bench wasn't a good one as Rangers got their Premiership title bid off to a dreadful start with a defeat to Kilmarnock.
The visit of Servette in the Champions League third qualifying round will give Cifuentes an idea of what Ibrox can be like on a European night. For a whole range of reasons, it is a must-win encounter for Beale and his new-look team.
Beale has spoken previously about how Cifuentes can take Rangers up a level as he prepares to slot into the midfield and add a talent and approach that is lacking within the squad at present.
The language barrier is an inconvenience right now for the Spanish-speaking star. He has been made to feel welcome, though, and will soon settle into life on and off the park at Ibrox.
"We’ve had some strange conversations already with my broken Spanish," Beale said. "Look, Danilo speaks a bit of it and one or two others. We’re not all like Brits abroad with our phrase books.
"Some of the players speak a second language. It’s important every day he’s here that he’ll have lessons and he’ll grow.
"I think if you play football and you are a good player and know yourself positionally and what’s being asked of you then you can perform.
"That’s the same in any league. I think what will happen is people will get excited about one or two players as the first wave of the seasons happens then hopefully one or two others step up in different moments, not forgetting that we were already a very good team before these guys arrived."
The capture of Cifuentes marked the end of a prolonged chase as Rangers were able to see off competition from a handful of European sides to land one of the rising stars in Major League Soccer.
At 24, he ticks several boxes in terms of his profile and his potential. With January signings Todd Cantwell and Nico Raskin firm favourites and John Lundstram, Ryan Jack and Ianis Hagi established figures, Cifuentes must now rise to a challenge at Ibrox.
Beale said: "Jose can play in a two-man midfield, he can play in a three, he can run on. He is an exciting player. Let him settle.
"I think he’s a player who’s got a lot of ability but he’s got to prove it here are at Rangers. It’s not a gimme.
"I don’t see anyone else wanting to move out of their way. I think Kieran Dowell has had a really good pre-season, Todd, we know ended last year really well.
"There’s Nico, Lunny, Jacko … Ianis is now back fully fit. So we wanted competition. We have it and now they’ve got to fight it out."
Those options that Beale has to chose from will come in useful on Wednesday evening and it would be no surprise to see changes made in the aftermath of the collapse at Kilmarnock.
Servette booked their place in the third round with a dramatic victory over Genk last week. It was a win that showed their character as much as their quality and Rangers can take nothing for granted heading into a tie that they will be favourites to emerge from.
Beale said: "I watched both games. I was due to go to Brussels on Wednesday for the game and chose not to because Jose was arriving on Thursday and I wanted to be here.
"I was glad I didn’t because the sending off after two minutes, there is not too much you can take from that game. We will go back on the first game.
"Listen, I thought they put in a fantastic performance. Fair play to them to show the resilience because Genk are a very good team.
"It tells you that if they are able to play with ten men for the amount of time that they did and get a result that they have got something about them. At this level of European competition, we have to be at our very best."
