Thelo Aasgaard scored a second-half equalizer to earn Rangers a 1-1 draw at Dundee United on Friday, offering the clearest sign yet that the Norwegian is ready to become a key figure under manager Derek McInnes.
The 24-year-old signed from Luton Town for £3.5 million a year ago and struggled through a difficult debut season at Ibrox. But his performance at Tannadice, classy and courageous, suggested something has shifted over the summer.
Much of that shift traces back to Norway’s World Cup. Aasgaard played and scored in the final group game against France, helped eliminate Brazil, and was still involved when Norway fell to England in the quarter-finals. For six weeks in America he trained daily alongside Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard.
“Playing amongst the best players in the world with Norway and feeling really confident, feeling good in training,” he said. “Obviously, a good performance in the World Cup as well did wonders for my confidence, so I tried to bring that into Rangers.”
Stepping up
McInnes handed Aasgaard the main creative role against Dundee United, and the midfielder delivered. Asked why he now felt capable of stepping up as the main man, he kept his answer brief: “Evidence. Good games for Rangers, for Luton, for Wigan back in the day. Even then I believed I could step up for a big team.”
“I’m just trying to take that quality that I was taking in from the six weeks out in America,” he added. “I trained with some really good players day in, day out and that raises your standards. I want to take some responsibility this year to be the man, and hopefully I can do that.”
The attitude that has impressed McInnes extends beyond performances. After a demanding summer, Aasgaard could reasonably have taken a fortnight off. Instead he phoned McInnes and said five or six days would be enough.
“It was just to prove a point that I should be in the team and that you should trust me to come in and make a difference,” he said.
Aasgaard has spoken warmly of the relationship he has built with McInnes, something he felt was missing under predecessors Russell Martin and Danny Rohl. “The manager’s been great ever since I’ve come in,” he said. “I’ve had that full belief straight from when I’ve walked in. He wants me to play with freedom and take that responsibility on my shoulders, which is great.”
Competition welcome
Despite his improved form, Aasgaard knows his place is not guaranteed. McInnes has made eight new signings and has signaled he wants more before the window closes. The Norwegian says the competition suits him.
“Competition is crucial in a team, it keeps you going,” he said. “If you’re in a team and you’ve got no one behind you pushing you, sometimes you can relax a little bit and performances aren’t the best. You need people pushing you.”
Rangers’ collective display on Friday was unconvincing. McInnes felt his side threw away the first half, improved to earn the equalizer but lacked the urgency to find a winner as time ran out. Six of the eight new signings played at some point, and the disjointed performance underscored his calls for reinforcements.
Aasgaard shared that frustration. “It was frustrating,” he said. “It’s too many years now we haven’t won that first game, but I think there were some positives. We obviously showed some character to get back, but we should have more than enough quality to go and win the game, so disappointed in the end.”
He added that the squad had the quality to do better. “I know it might take some time to build connections on the pitch, but even so, we’ve had a good pre-season together. With that being said, we still should have what we need to win the game.”
