Rangers head coach expects intensity and aggression against Brann in the Europa League

New Rangers head coach Danny Rohl has spelled out what he expects from his players when they face Brann in the Europa League on Thursday.

The German will be in the dugout for the first time when his new team kick off in Norway for the third match of their League Phase campaign.

After just a few days on the training pitch, the former Sheffield Wednesday boss knows that he won’t be able to get all his ideas across as he looks to turn things around from Russell Martin’s disastrous tenure, but he does anticipate a change and has identified one key area to improve.

“A big topic on Tuesday was our speed-up moments in possession,” Rohl said. “About how we want to attack spaces.

“On Wednesday, we looked at the opponent and how we want to attack. We also spoke about five letters – SILAS – sprints, intensity, last step in duels, aggressive and swarm because we want to do all these things together. If we do that, we’ll have a good chance of taking something.”

Rangers drew 2-2 with Dundee United at Ibrox on Saturday as Steven Smith took temporary charge before Rohl’s appointment and the new head coach anticipates a shift in personnel but admits he will have to learn more about his squad to judge his selection better.

“We will maybe have some changes in the starting 11,” he said. “But I’ve been honest with my team.

“In two days, I’ve had to take impressions from videos and training sessions. You need a bit more time to know all the details.

“That’s important for me as a coach because I like to make adjustments during the game. I have to understand which players I can bring in for different situations. That’s something I have to learn very soon.

“I spoke to them about basic things, I didn’t want to overload them with too much details. But we need some things to improve, especially in Europe when you have such a big game ahead. We have to understand how we go into such a game.”

Defeats to Genk and Sturm Graz have left Rangers without a point from their opening two games and in desperate need of a positive result to build confidence and get their campaign going. Asked how prepared he felt ahead of a key game, Rohl said only time would tell but stressed that it was more important just to get a win than to see perfection in his first match.

“I think that will be a good question for tomorrow,” he said. “We will have a clear idea of that afterwards.

“It’s about the right attitude to come to such a place like this. I expect very intense game and we will face a team that’s well organised. They play with good pressure.

“It will be a fight for the second balls in some moments and we have to be ready for this. This is what I demand from my group and we want to see.

“I know we will not make the perfect game but it’s not necessary to have the perfect game. It’s just important to have a successful game and that’s the message.”