Tuesday 26 July 2016 07:25, UK
Mark Warburton says Niko Kranjcar will be able to handle the rough and tumble of Scottish football after coming through his first full 90 minutes for Rangers.
The 31-year-old scored his first goal for the Ibrox side in the 3-0 win over Stranraer as they rounded off their Betfred Cup group-stage schedule with a fourth straight victory.
Kranjcar was left wincing after midfielder Ryan Thomson careered through the back of his legs near the end of the game but, despite ending up in a heap, there was no damage done to the former Tottenham and Portsmouth playmaker.
And his manager brushed off suggestions his summer signing needs greater protection from referees ahead of Rangers' Scottish Premiership campaign, which gets underway against Hamilton on Sky Sports 1 on August 6.
"It was a bad tackle but he got up, so he's fine, touch wood," Warburton said. "You don't play 80 caps for Croatia [if you need protecting], he can look after himself, don't worry about that. That was a bad tackle but we move on from it.
"Niko was good tonight, he got through the 90 although he tired after 75 minutes but he's working on that."
If Warburton is looking to add extra steel to his midfield he looks to have found it in the shape of former Liverpool youngster Jordan Rossiter.
The England youth international made his debut as a second-half substitute just days after returning from action at the U19s European Championships and wasted little time getting stuck into a few meaty challenges and impressing Warburton.
He said: "He's fiery, he can look after the football and won't shy away from anything. We need that ruggedness in midfield."
Martyn Waghorn struck two first half goals before Kranjcar finished off the scoring after the interval to confirm Rangers' place in the last 16 of the new-look League Cup.
"There were lots of positives tonight," Warburton added. "Joey Barton got an hour, Jordan got 30 minutes, while Niko and Harry Forrester got through 90 minutes.
"All the squad have had good pitch time now, four games in nine days and we've come through unscathed in terms of injury. We've had four clean sheets, so lots of positives."
