Former Sunderland player Alex Rae has discussed Rangers potential interest in Ross Stewart and has given his assessment of the pre season encounter between us in Portugal. Rae has a house a stones throw from the stadium which will host our match with the Scottish giants and has detailed what travelling fans can expect. Rae also gave his thoughts on our promotion and the news surrounding the club currently.
HOMEWORK
“This will be a good chance for Gio to get a good look at Ross up close. I’m sure they will have already done their homework on him. He had a prolific season last year and he’s had a lot of clubs looking at him. So I suppose this friendly will be an ideal opportunity to get a proper close-up examination of him against your Connor Goldsons and Calvin Basseys of this world. From that point of view, it would be a good test for the lad and, if he is a target for Rangers, a good chance for them to assess his strengths.”
GOOD ATTRIBUTES
“But I’ve liked big Stewart since his Ross County days. I think he’s got good attributes and we’ve seen him score a variety of goals over the past year in League One. He’s been introduced to life at a big club with his Sunderland move."
KICK ON
"There’s no denying that in terms of the numbers of fans and the expectation to win, especially with them being in League One after four years, there are similarities to Rangers. What he’s pitched in to the cause in terms of a really impressive season at that level, shows he’s ready and I’m sure he’ll be looking to kick on again in the Championship or maybe somewhere else.”
PORTUGAL
“The pitch is brilliant, it will be immaculate. There is room for a couple of thousand fans who I’m sure will be out to watch it. There’s a small main stand but room for fans to stand round the other three sides. It will be more than adequate. I’m sure there will be a load of Rangers fans out holidaying here at that time and a few from Sunderland too, who always bring a big support. It should be a great atmosphere and it’s just a shame I can’t be there to see it myself.”
PROMOTION
“It’s great to see Sunderland heading back in the right direction. The introduction of Alex Neil has been so key. After he got the job, they embarked on this great run and managed to get promoted at long last through the play-offs. It brilliant for the club and great for the area too, which needs a boost like this. They’ve been down the divisions far too long but I see they’ve already sold 28,000 season tickets, which will go up again once the fixture list comes out.”
TAKEOVER
“There’s talk of another potential takeover but hopefully that doesn’t disrupt things. Stability and a medium-term plan is vital. The objective should be taking small steps back towards the Premier League, which is where a club of its size should be."
DOUBLE PROMOTION
“But you never know, I’ve seen it before where teams get promoted one year then manage to repeat it the next. Fingers crossed that’s what happens for my old side this year and we see them back in the top division soon.”
