The Turkish Football Federation National Teams Officer Hamit Altintop has hit back at criticism of Ridvan Yilmaz after his move to Rangers.
The former Real Madrid and Bayern Munch midfielder oversees the Turkish national side and took part in a heated TV interview following the massive Nations League upset at the hands of the Faroe Islands. The stunning 2-1 defeat has sent shockwaves through the Turkish game and Altintop was quick to step on to TRT Sport to give an instant post match debrief, where he batted away a host of concerns over the national side.
During the scattergun debrief, Altintop defended boss Stefan Kuntz and his selection for the international double header which saw the side pick up just one point from games against Luxembourg and the Faroes. The pundits flagged up concerns with the call up of the Rangers defender, who has only made two starting appearances since the 21-year-old completed his £5.5million move from Besiktas.
Hosts Bilal Mese described Yilmaz as being "carried like a bag" by Kuntz, having not played a single minute of football during his time away from Ibrox. However, Altintop urged the critics to give the full-back time to adjust to the Scottish Premiership. He said: "Don't we see that Ridvan has entered into a culture and language change? We are talking about months (after the move).
"I hope the senior players will show him the right path, give (him) courage and self-confidence. They (young players) need us. They say to us, I hope they show us the right way, they say it will help me.
"We are striving for them. We want to play well. Want want them to say if I am talented, I can be successful with this determination. They should say that I can come to the right places."
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