Francisco Sandaza: 'Away games are wars Rangers must adjust to and win'

Francisco Sandaza featured as Rangers played out their third away draw at Annan on Saturday.SNS Group

Francisco Sandaza admits he and his Rangers team-mates weren’t prepared for the battlegrounds they’ve encountered on their travels in the Third Division.

Two 5-1 victories in their Ibrox fixtures have been relatively easy going for a side featuring a number of former SPL players.

Away from home, however, the team have laboured to three draws, including a 0-0 result on their latest trip to Annan.

“The Third Division is not football, at least not away from home,” the former St Johnstone man is quoted as saying in the Scottish Sun. “Away games are war.

“It’s much more physical, more hard tackles. I was on the pitch on Saturday thinking, ‘f****** hell!’.”

“In away games it isn’t football the way it is at Ibrox or in SPL games. But we have to realise this is where we are right now, these are our present circumstances.

“Everybody is expecting us to win 4-0 and 5-0 but the teams we meet are playing the game of their lives. They’re very sharp, very aggressive and there’s no space.

“But we will come good in the division, I have no doubts about that.”

Sandaza has found the net just once in four league outings this campaign and concedes Ally McCoist’s side haven’t adjusted to the style needed to win on the road.

“Away from home, we have to change our minds and become more like the teams we are playing against,” he said.

“Away from Ibrox, much more of the play is about balls over the top. It is more like a war, at least it was on Saturday.

“We have to win these wars and we must do that. We are Rangers and we must win every game”

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