Priaulx preview: Tardif aiming for ‘top half of bottom half’
It is a new beginning at Rangers and the stature of their new head coach emphasises the ambitions of the club.
However, Chris Tardif is quick to acknowledge that his appointment is just one piece of the jigsaw and the former Muratti manager, who will be assisted by Alex Le Prevost and Andy Manning, knows that progress is likely to be steady rather than spectacular.
‘We’ve been working hard on and off the pitch. It’s not just something that’s happened in the last few weeks of pre-season, this has been a long time in planning from the guys on the board who took over prior to my announcement and obviously working with Prev and Andy trying to get things right,’ he said.
‘We always knew this was going to be a long-term project and we’ve been working very hard to put in place the foundations that we want to build from.
‘We’ve tried different things in pre-season and we know where we are, ready to start the season now – that’s on and off the pitch.’
PODCAST: Hear from all eight coaches on our FNB Priaulx League season preview
Rangers finished last season bottom of the Priaulx League pile with two wins and two draws from their 24 games.
Tardif is not revealing any specific targets he has set, but an improvement is the bare minimum.
‘Yes, everyone will look at how we play on the pitch and the results on the pitch, and we want to be competitive first and foremost – we want to be competitive in every single game we play.
‘We will get results if we are competitive, we will get results we should get and hopefully nick a few other results that potentially people wouldn’t think we’d get. So that was always our first aim – can we be competitive in every single game we play this season. Where that takes us is sort of in the lap of the gods, if you like – you can’t always control the result on the pitch.
‘I would like us to be up a few places from where we were last season and just being competitive all the way through this season. If that takes us into the top half of the bottom half, if that makes sense, then great.’
There has not been a huge influx of new senior faces in Rangers’ playing ranks, with goalkeeper Seb Sheppard and striker Marlon Jardim the main additions, but with the calibre of coach as well as some quality youngsters coming through the ranks, there is every reason to believe that there could be some eye-catching football being played at the KGV this season.
‘It wasn’t a case that we were going to chase down lots and lots of signings,’ Tardif said.
‘First and foremost we want people who want to come and play for the club and be there as part of the start of the evolution of what we’re doing.
‘We’ve got a great little squad going on now and we’ve started to become a squad – and that was one of the big parts of us building a whole squad ethos and a culture at the club.
‘In the last couple of weeks I’ve started to feel that in training, which is a great result for us.’
Rangers get their campaign under way against Bels at the Track on Saturday, with their first home game at the KGV not until 1 October against Northerners.
READ MORE
