RANGERS mounted a fine second-half comeback to win 3-1 against Lotte in a low-key friendly against the German minnows last night.
Manager Walter Smith gave Andy Webster a starting place as he bids to complete his long recovery from a hernia injury and also handed a debut to recently signed striker Andrius Velicka.
Webster, who was handed a three-year deal at Ibrox despite be
ing plagued by fitness problems for the majority of his loan spell from Wigan, was at fault when Lotte took the lead after just five minutes.
He failed to deal with a regulation long ball, allowing Dennis Rommel to steal in and roll the ball past goalkeeper Graeme Smith.
It was not until the 70th minute that the visitors equalised, Kris Boyd powering home after a Nacho Novo effort was blocked.
Boyd took just a minute to put his side ahead, linking up well with Daniel Cousin before producing a smart finish.
Velicka made his presence felt late on when he set up John Fleck for the third with a neat lay-off as Rangers cruised to victory after their nervy start.
Meanwhile, midfielder Kevin Thomson has admitted he needs to raise his game in the absence of Barry Ferguson and concedes the improvement is overdue.
Thomson took time to win over the Rangers fans after his £2million switch from Hibernian in January last year and he is the first to admit he needs more consistency in his game.
Smith's central midfield is looking light after Ferguson underwent surgery earlier this week, which will rule him out for up to four months.
Attempts to sign Steven Davis on a permanent deal have stalled with Rangers unwilling to meet Fulham's £4million asking price.
So Smith will look to 23-year-old Thomson to take control of the team's engine room when they open their season with a Champions League qualifier on 30 July, almost certainly against FBK Kaunas following their 4-1 first-leg win over Santa Coloma in Andorra.
Thomson himself is looking for improvement after his first full season saw him pick up two winner's medals but miss out on Uefa Cup and title success at the final hurdle. The player told Rangers News: "My own season was pretty average overall last year.
"My performances in certain games were of a good standard but my consistency levels were a wee bit sloppy. I missed ten games through injury and sat out a couple more, just when things were starting to click for me, because of suspension.
"Hopefully I'll be able to avoid such situations this season, although a lot of it is down to the way I play the game.
"Sadly, picking up yellow cards and suspensions is part and parcel of that and it hurts because I missed some big games."
The full article contains 484 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
