Rangers midfielder Dan Neil has revealed that clear-the-air talks during a two-day stay in Aberdeen were vital in helping the team secure a 1-0 victory over the Dons on Sunday. The win, courtesy of a Lawrence Shankland penalty, came just days after a humiliating Conference League defeat to FK Jablonec in the Czech Republic.
Instead of flying straight home to Glasgow after their European exit, manager Derek McInnes took the squad directly to Aberdeen. The players spent two days together at a city hotel and trained at Formartine, with no iPads, Netflix or Dre Beats allowed. Instead, they held frank discussions about what was going wrong and what needed to be fixed.
Togetherness in Adversity
Neil, the Ibrox vice-captain, said the time spent together helped the team show togetherness, resilience and spirit against Stephen Robinson's men, unlike their performance in the Czech Republic. He hopes the win can be a turning point in their Scottish Premiership campaign.
“Over the weekend, we spent some time in Aberdeen as a team in the hotel together. It wasn’t just a case of lads going to their rooms on their iPads and no-one speaking. There were a lot of conversations, mostly about last Thursday night, or the last few weeks, really, and how important Sunday’s game was,” Neil said.
Home Truths Aired
“No matter what we did, we HAD to come away with three points. And I think you saw the connections we built over those last few days on the pitch at Aberdeen. Those conversations we had were really important. During a season, you’re going to have ups and downs. But the biggest thing is ironing them out really quickly. Those few days we had together in Aberdeen were really positive for the group.”
Neil admitted that everybody in the squad had their say, including staff and backroom staff, and that the talks helped iron out issues. “It was as a whole, not just the squad but the staff, backroom staff - we spent every hour with each other really and talked about what we think we can improve on. To top it off with three points on Sunday at a tough place to go was really important for us. Everybody in the squad has got a voice. We asked for everybody’s opinion and we respect everyone’s opinion,” he added.
Neil's Tough Start
Neil himself has had a difficult start to life at Rangers. Signed as a new leader after the departures of James Tavernier and Jack Butland, he was handed the captain's armband on the opening day of the Premiership season and in Europe last week, only to be taken off by McInnes at half-time in both games. He admitted the challenges have been tough but said that was part of the reason he joined the club.
“This is everything I thought it was going to be and probably a bit more as well. The ups are very up and the downs are very down here. But that’s why you come and play for a big club. Those downs really do crush you and hurt you. But they also give you motivation to get back to the ups, get back to winning ways and get back to feeling good again,” Neil said.
The midfielder started the move that led to Djeidi Gassama winning a spot-kick after being tripped by Dons defender Dan Happe. Shankland buried the penalty, and Neil said that was the only thing that mattered. He insisted the team is improving and that their football will get better as the season goes on.
“I understand that not every game is going to be pretty. In an ideal world, everybody wants to play nice football through the thirds and break teams down. But over the last few weeks the group has probably lacked a bit of confidence with the results that we’ve had. That’s only natural when they’re not going your way,” Neil said.
“So on Sunday, it was important today to stand up, fight and win duels. You saw little sparks of nice bits of play and one of them was for the goal. But I think you’re seeing a hell of a lot of lads willing to fight for each other, stand up and be counted. That was the most important thing on Sunday. Me and Cammy (Devlin) were speaking about it.”
Neil added that it was important to come away with three points and feel better about themselves, but stressed the need not to get ahead of themselves, with the next game on Wednesday.
