Michael Mols fears Rangers might find themselves off the pace in next Sunday’s derby with Celtic at Hampden due to a three-week lay-off from action.
The Light Blues’ Championship trip to Cowdenbeath was called off yesterday lunchtime because of a frozen pitch at Central Park.
That came after their farcical home meeting with Hearts nine days ago was abandoned after just 24 minutes due to heavy snow at Ibrox.
Gers’ last full match was on January 10, when Nicky Law’s early goal gave them a 1-0 win over Alloa Athletic.
Having been in cold storage for most of the time since, Mols believes that could hurt his old side’s hopes of progressing past their oldest rivals to the League Cup Final.
The Dutchman, in Glasgow for Fernando Ricksen’s benefit match this afternoon, has no doubt Kenny McDowall will push his players hard in training in an attempt to compensate.
But Mols is adamant nothing can keep a side sharp like continued involvement in matches and with the odds already against Rangers, he is concerned they have lengthened further.
The former striker said: “It is not an ideal situation at all because the team will now be going into the derby having not played a game for three weeks.
“They will train hard in the days before they play Celtic but nothing is the same as playing in games themselves.
“You need to keep playing to stay match fit and the fact Rangers will not have played for so long, especially leading up to such an important game, is a worry.
“It will be the first Old Firm derby in three years and the stakes are very high so to be going into it without playing for so long is a concern for the manager.
“He will have wanted to see his players challenging for places in his side to face Celtic but has not had that opportunity.”
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