FOLLOWING Saturday’s win over Wigan Athletic, Rangers' attention now switches to the Carabao Cup where Mark Warburton’s side are set to face Portsmouth.
The south-coast side will be relatively happy with the start they have made to the League One season, sitting six points off the play-offs positions and due to last weekend’s postponement of their fixture with Rotherham United they have played a game less than most.
This consequently means Pompey have had a week to prepare for Wednesday’s cup clash with Rangers in W12.
QPR edged through in the first round of the Carabao Cup, narrowly beating Bristol City 5-4 on penalties. Portsmouth kicked off this year’s tournament in front of the Sky cameras, comfortably beating Championship side Birmingham City.
Portsmouth beat Birmingham City 3-0 in the first round of the Carabao Cup to progress while Rangers’ triumph over Bristol City ensured their name also went into the hat. And now Warburton is keen for that progress to continue.
He explained: “You can’t talk about creating a winning mentality but then say, ‘don’t worry about this game.’
“Every game we go into we put out what we think is the right squad to go and win the game of football.
“We fully respect the opponent. We know the last game was tough and we came through that and again tonight it will be very tough against a really well organised team full of quality.
“We have to be ready for it.”
If the Cup tie against the Robins is any indicator, Warburton may well make changes to his starting line up for tonight’s game but he says that is purely a reflection of the confidence he has in his squad.
“We speak about camaraderie and taking on new ideas - that’s a bit repetitive now but they really have worked so hard on certain ideas,” he said.
“The fact that we were able to make eight changes for that game (against Bristol City) gives you a lot of self belief about the squad and what they can achieve.
“There is a lot more work to do but we have made good progress in a short space of time.
“I want a strong side and that will include one or two younger ones who have done exceptionally well in training
The R’s boss will have to make do without the services of Luke Amos, Geoff Cameron, Olamide Shodipo and Lee Wallace tonight, although none are too far away from being available for selection.
Amos limped off against Swansea with a hamstring strain while Cameron hasn’t featured since the clash with the Swans owing to the same injury.
“Luke is coming back,” Warburton said. “We were very pleased with the scan. It is nothing too serious so hopefully Luke is only a few days away.
“Geoff is slightly ahead of him with his recovery so both of them are pushing.”
Shodipo hasn’t featured since the opening day win at Stoke and Warburton has confirmed he is two-to-three weeks away, while Wallace is now close to making his R’s debut,
The former Glasgow Rangers defender has been sidelined with a hip injury, but Warburton explained: “Lee is back out on the grass and training better than he has since he has been here.
“He has been outstanding and is moving freely. I am delighted for Lee and the medical team who have worked so hard with him.
“Now we have to look at game time and building up his match preparation. He has missed pre-season so we have to be aware of that but he is in a good place right now.”
The south-coast side will be relatively happy with the start they have made to the League One season, sitting six points off the play-offs positions and due to last weekend’s postponement of their fixture with Rotherham United they have played a game less than most.
This consequently means Pompey have had a week to prepare for Wednesday’s cup clash with Rangers in W12.
QPR edged through in the first round of the Carabao Cup, narrowly beating Bristol City 5-4 on penalties. Portsmouth kicked off this year’s tournament in front of the Sky cameras, comfortably beating Championship side Birmingham City.
Portsmouth beat Birmingham City 3-0 in the first round of the Carabao Cup to progress while Rangers’ triumph over Bristol City ensured their name also went into the hat. And now Warburton is keen for that progress to continue.
He explained: “You can’t talk about creating a winning mentality but then say, ‘don’t worry about this game.’
“Every game we go into we put out what we think is the right squad to go and win the game of football.
“We fully respect the opponent. We know the last game was tough and we came through that and again tonight it will be very tough against a really well organised team full of quality.
“We have to be ready for it.”
If the Cup tie against the Robins is any indicator, Warburton may well make changes to his starting line up for tonight’s game but he says that is purely a reflection of the confidence he has in his squad.
“We speak about camaraderie and taking on new ideas - that’s a bit repetitive now but they really have worked so hard on certain ideas,” he said.
“The fact that we were able to make eight changes for that game (against Bristol City) gives you a lot of self belief about the squad and what they can achieve.
“There is a lot more work to do but we have made good progress in a short space of time.
“I want a strong side and that will include one or two younger ones who have done exceptionally well in training
The R’s boss will have to make do without the services of Luke Amos, Geoff Cameron, Olamide Shodipo and Lee Wallace tonight, although none are too far away from being available for selection.
Amos limped off against Swansea with a hamstring strain while Cameron hasn’t featured since the clash with the Swans owing to the same injury.
“Luke is coming back,” Warburton said. “We were very pleased with the scan. It is nothing too serious so hopefully Luke is only a few days away.
“Geoff is slightly ahead of him with his recovery so both of them are pushing.”
Shodipo hasn’t featured since the opening day win at Stoke and Warburton has confirmed he is two-to-three weeks away, while Wallace is now close to making his R’s debut,
The former Glasgow Rangers defender has been sidelined with a hip injury, but Warburton explained: “Lee is back out on the grass and training better than he has since he has been here.
“He has been outstanding and is moving freely. I am delighted for Lee and the medical team who have worked so hard with him.
“Now we have to look at game time and building up his match preparation. He has missed pre-season so we have to be aware of that but he is in a good place right now.”
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