Source: Team_Talk
Edu: Fringe stars enjoying their chance
Boss Walter Smith's resources have been stretched to the limit as injuries begin to take their toll at the business end of the campaign.
He was without nine first team regulars for Saturday's 3-1 win over Motherwell, with several on the treatment table and Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor serving two-week club bans.
Smith has been forced to make the most of limited personnel and so far his fringe players have not let him down.
Andrius Velicka made the most of his first start since August with a quick-fire opener on Saturday and Steven Smith also impressed in his first appearance of the season.
United States international Edu is well aware of just how much it means to finally be given a run in the first team having spent most of his debut season on the sidelines until now and he is confident Smith's stand-ins can continue to be stand-outs.
"It shows that our team has a lot of depth," he said.
"The guys who have been asked to come in and fill roles have done well.
"It's a time when guys who have been waiting in the wings have been given the opportunity to come in and show what they can do to help the team in their time of need.
"A lot of the guys have done well and hopefully that continues and we can pick up the win this weekend and continue from there."
Edu did his own hopes of remaining in the team no harm when he claimed his first goal for Rangers in the 2-1 win over St Mirren last week.
"It was definitely a great moment," he said.
"It was good because it ended up helping the team win the game, which is the most important thing at this point.
"It was great to get my first goal, it was really pleasing, and the fans were supporting me and cheering me on and that was great as well.
"The coaching staff and my team-mates were supporting me too so it was a really good moment for me and I enjoyed it."
With Celtic set to travel to Ibrox on May 9, Rangers know if they win their remaining six games, they will be crowned champions.
And that is why Edu believes it is irrelevant who sits at the summit following the league split this weekend, with Celtic boasting a one-point advantage at the moment.
He said: "Regardless of what position we are in, we are both going to be playing the same teams so I wouldn't say there is any big advantage there.
"We've still got to play each other, which is going to be a big game for both of us. I don't think we can look too far in advance.
"If we can just focus on winning all the games and worry about ourselves, things will be great.
"We can't worry too much about our opponents and circumstances which are out of our control.
"All we can do is focus on what we can control and that's going out there
and winning games and, if we do that, we will put ourselves in a great position."
Rangers have now taken maximum points from their last three outings against Falkirk, St Mirren and Motherwell and Edu believes that form bodes well for the remainder of the campaign.
He told Rangers World: "It was a big thing for us to get the three wins.
"We are in a situation now where we need to win the rest of the games and hopefully that will pan out in our favour and we will win the league.
"It's a good start to finishing the season strongly."
