Mendes: Pressure eased on Gers

16 July 2009 07:12
The Ibrox side ended a three-year wait for the SPL title when they pipped Celtic to the crown on the final day of the campaign. Walter Smith's men now also have the added bonus of Champions League football to look forward to as a result of their success. But Mendes is well aware of just how much pressure the players would have been under heading into another season with Celtic still the dominating force in Scottish football. "It's more enjoyable being champions, that's for sure," he said. "The pressure of not being champions for three or four years is not there any more. "There are other things that will happen this season, like Champions League football. So it's good to be champions and to have other competitions to look forward to." Rangers are likely to head into the new campaign without midfielder Barry Ferguson, who is on the verge of a move to Birmingham. The Ibrox club accepted a bid on Wednesday reported to be around £1million for the 31-year-old, who will discuss terms with the Barclays Premier League club managed by his former Rangers and Scotland manager Alex McLeish. But Portuguese midfielder Mendes knows the supporters will still demand just as much success. "We can't change our expectations and our situation," he said. "We can't go into games saying never mind what happens, we can't afford to think like that. "Expectations are always high and they are always there - otherwise we are losing 1-0 before we are even on the pitch." Asked his targets for the new season, Mendes replied: "The main thing is the team targets. "We want to repeat what we achieved last season and we have a fantastic bonus of the Champions League this season. "We just want to do the best we can. We want to give joy to the fans and have fantastic European nights at Ibrox so it will be an exciting season ahead for us."

Source: Team_Talk