Ryan Kent ready for Rangers start as rejuvenated star makes 'raring to go' declaration

Kent made his long-awaited return against Brondby and now he's ready to fire Rangers to the title.

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Ryan Kent had to count to 10 before climbing off the bench to spark Rangers into life in Copenhagen on Thursday night.

Now he’s hoping the enforced injury lay-off that saw the games he missed climb into double figures before his appearance against Brondby will have given his batteries the recharge they needed to help spark Steven Gerrard ’s men into life.

Kent insists Rangers have not done too badly since he limped off against Lyon on September 16, losing only one of the 10 games he missed.

And while draws against Motherwell, Hearts and Aberdeen have been damaging to their title defence, the former Liverpool kid pointed out Rangers are still four points clear at the top of the table ahead of Sunday's visit of bottom club Ross County.

Kent will almost certainly start after his electrifying introduction in the second half on Thursday helped Rangers rescue the point that keeps their Europa League fate in their own hands.

He said: “I am ready to start a game.

“It’s quite tough watching from the sides, especially for two months or whatever.

“I am raring to go.

“I let the boys take care of things. We are top of the league, we are in a great position and we have everything to fight for in the Europa League.

“So when you look at it on paper, we have been doing really well.

“At the start of the season I was carrying a few niggles so it’s nice to get them sort of ironed out and really glad to be back on the pitch.

“I’ve been doing a lot of extensive work, working really hard in the gym and out on the training field to prep me to get back and straight into it again.

“No matter your circumstance, when you’re called off the bench you are looking to make an impact.

“That’s why the gaffer is relying on you, to bring you on the pitch.”

The 24-year-old will use the international break to fine-tune his recovery from the hamstring injury and admits he can’t wait for the next instalment of the European adventure, against Sparta Prague - the only team to beat Rangers in the 10 games he missed.

A two-goal win for Gerrard’s team on November 25 would guarantee them second spot in Group A with a game to play and Kent believes that’s well within his team’s grasp - especially in front of a full-house Ibrox support.

He added: “Possibly the international break will give me some extended time to maybe work on a few more things like getting up to match speed. It will be an important period for me.

“I felt we were unfortunate not to come away with a win last night because I felt we played really well in the second half.

“It’s really set up to be an exciting game against Sparta. That’s what the Europa League is all about

“Every player wants to play at the highest level in football.

“Europe is certainly one of those, if you can showcase your ability on the pitch then it sets you up for the future for sure.

“We have missed the fans massively. We always want the fans back in the stadium as they are like a 12th man for us.

“It creates that atmosphere. The atmosphere on Thursday was great as these are the games you want to play in.”

Rangers assistant manager Gary McAllister was delighted with the impact made by Kent, Kemar Roofe and goalscorer Ianis Hagi when they all made second half appearances against the Danes and is adamant their performances reinforced the belief that competition for places is vital at Ibrox.

McAllister said: “In the last couple of days in the training amongst the squad Ryan has looked really refreshing. He has been out a while. Getting on the pitch was a big boost for him, and certainly for us. I thought he looked really sharp.

“Kemar Roofe looked sharp as well. But Ianis came on and gave us that wee bit of quality and eye for a pass. Obviously, the goal was superb, it was a great goal and a great finish. It was nice to see.

“The facts are, we can’t be reliant on a starting XI. The XI who finished at Fir Park and won 6-1 deserved to go again, although Calvin (Bassey) was left out and Borna (Barisic) came in. But the facts are we need 20-plus players.

“We do have two quality players in nearly every position and we have got to utilise this squad. The freshness towards the end of the game certainly worked.”

McAllister is adamant Rangers won’t be looking at the gulf between themselves and Ross County in league terms when the Dingwall outfit turns up at Ibrox tomorrow. But they did look at Malky Mackay’s team’s last performance - a stunning 5-0 win at Dundee.

The Ibrox No 2 added: “We take that on board. That was a surprising result. It’s their only win of the season.

“I know Malky really well and they’ll come to Ibrox and try to frustrate and be organised.

“But we have got to go all guns blazing.

“What we have got to guard against is losing this first goal. It seems to be a wee bit of a habit at the moment. If we can get our noses in front early then we have got to go and try and score some goals.”