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Robin Propper lifts lid on 'difficult' Rangers stint as he doubles down on 'kick and chase' claim

The defender's stay in Glasgow lasted just one season before returning to the Netherlands earlier this summer

Robin Propper
Robin Propper

Robin Propper admits he was unable to adapt to Scottish football during his stint with Rangers.


But the Dutch centre back also reckons the constant scrutiny surrounding matters on the field at Ibrox make trying to play free-flowing football difficult.


Propper returned to FC Twente earlier this summer after being told he wasn't a part of new boss Russell Martin's plans, just 12 months on from his arrival from the Eredivisie club under Philippe Clement.


The 31-year-old made 43 appearances in all competitions in total in his lone season, with Gers losing the Premier Sports Cup final to Celtic, suffering a shock Scottish Cup exit to Queen's Park and then finishing 17 points behind their bitter city rivals in the title race.

After sealing his departure, Propper took aim at the way the game is predominantly played in Scotland, labelling it as 'kick and rush'.

But in an interview with Voetbal International, the defender concedes he couldn't get up to speed with it.


He said: "I played 43 matches for Rangers," he reflects in Voetbal International. "I played almost every European game, and those were actually my best matches.

"The game was most comparable to European or Dutch football then. Scottish football is completely different. Much more direct and physical.

"That took some getting used to for me, and I struggled with the transition. The conclusion is that football there doesn't really suit me. I'm not the typical Scottish player."


"They wanted to move away from that Scottish style and become more dominant,

But we couldn't achieve that, just as I don't think Rangers have been able to make that transition for years. To really start playing football. That becomes difficult if you revert to the long ball after one or two defeats.

"You need calm at a club to make such a change successful. And that wasn't the case at Rangers.


Romanian referee Istvan Kovacs shows a red card to Robin Propper

The pressure at Twente is squared there. Rangers is a buzzword throughout the country, even internationally. Everything revolves around the battle with Celtic.

"Rangers used to be the strongest for a long time, now Celtic is. That's difficult for supporters to understand, and of course the media can play on that."


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