Jump to content

Naisy interview for Sunday


Boab

Recommended Posts

STEVEN NAISMITH was one of the few players to leave Ibrox on Tuesday night with his confidence still intact.

The 22-year-old was deployed in a lone striker's role against Seville during the 4-1 defeat in the Champions League, but for all that he couldn't hide his disappointment with the result, there was a sense of satisfaction with his own performance.

The player ought to have won a penalty when he was scythed down in the box, a foul that was spotted by everyone inside the ground apart from Swedish referee Jonas Eriksson.

Instead, things went from bad to wincingly worse for the Ibrox side to round off what has been a disappointing month to date.

However, with an Old Firm game to prepare for on Sunday, the first of the season, Rangers can ill afford to feel too sorry for themselves.

As Naismith was keen to point out last night, there are four games remaining in Group G in which they can put things right, but the immediate priority is not conceding further ground in the SPL.

Winning the championship will always be the ground upon which both halves of the Old Firm are judged and Naismith is keen to bounce back from the midweek defeat with a win over Celtic.

Tony Mowbray's side are going into the game with a four-point advantage and victory for the Parkhead side, even at this early stage of the campaign, would be a nightmare for Rangers.

Walter Smith's side are going into the match under more than just a bit of pressure.

Having failed to score in their last three successive SPL games, there will be a scrutiny upon them that will add to the intensity of the occasion.

Naismith has always insisted that he harbours aspirations of playing as an out-and-out forward and his showing against Sevilla may be enough to win him a start on Sunday.

That may depend on whether or not Kyle Lafferty is deemed fit enough to play after his recent injury problems, but Naismith is desperate to kickstart Rangers' season with a big Old Firm performance.

"I would love to stay in the same position for Sunday's game," he said.

"These are the games you want to play in and there will be no question that everyone will be up for it because we know what it means.

"But I think it is wrong to say that we are under a lot of pressure going into it. At this stage of the season you cannot say who is going to go on and win the title, regardless of what happens.

"We are looking at it as the perfect game to go into after the defeat on Tuesday night because it is such a massive match and it is good to have that as a focus.

"Of course, we are disappointed with the result and the second-half performance against Sevilla. We were maybe a bit naive as the game wore on and we were punished quite ruthlessly because of that.

"We have had a harsh lesson to learn, but we need to move on from it quite quickly."

While Naismith is deserving of a jersey against Celtic, he is well aware that there will be both competition for places and a need for Smith to shake things up as he goes in search of goals.

Kenny Miller, Lafferty and Kris Boyd will all be chapping at the door and it is something that Naismith is not overlooking.

"Kenny works his socks off when he is in the team and he is someone who has a lot of experience at this level too," he said.

"The same goes for Kris while Kyle is desperate to get back into things because he has been frustrated at the way things have gone at the start of the season."

He went on: "I know that every time I go on to the pitch I need to prove myself to the manager and show that I deserve to be in the team.

"But I feel confident I can do that. Personally speaking, it has been a decent start to the season for me and I just hope that I can kick on.

"I want to be part of a successful side because I feel that I missed out on so much last season.

"Sunday's game is a massive one for us and if I am involved at any level then I'll be doing everything I can to get us a result. It is the kind of game where if you come away with a win you can use it as a springboard into other matches.

"A big result like that could set us up well and that is what we will be striving to do.

"I don't think there will be any issue regarding confidence in the team ahead of Sunday's game, because we are the SPL champions. We haven't got the kind of results we would have liked in recent weeks but we have not become a bad team overnight."

Publication date 01/10/09

I'd happily see Naismith play on Sunday.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Upcoming Events

    • 07 November 2024 17:45 Until 19:45
      0  
      Olympiakos FC v Rangers
      Karaiskakis Stadium
      UEFA Europa League
×
×
  • Create New...