Sheikh Salim 215 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Rangers striker Kyle Lafferty: We'll need to up a gear to beat Celtic as some of their football is amazingDec 19 2011 By Hugh Keevinskyle lafferty rangers Image 2KYLE LAFFERTY insists Rangers will need to show bottle for the battle if they want to beat Celtic a week on Wednesday and put a down payment on a fourth league title in a row.The striker got Rangers out of jail with a late winner against Inverness Caley Thistle on Saturday before running to embrace some of the Ibrox crowd to show his delight.But the same fans, and the Celtic supporters, would have been astounded to hear the Northern Irishman heap praise on Neil Lennon’s side while expressing the opinion it will take heroics against the Hoops to get a result at their ground.Lafferty’s relationship with the Celtic manager deteriorated after he tweeted his delight and mocked Lennon following an Old Firm win in last season’s first Glasgow derby.Then he got a mouthful in return from Lennon when the Parkhead side got their own back by winning 2-0 at Ibrox.But immediately after the win over Caley Thistle the Rangers player was more respectful to Lennon and his team than the Celtic fans who’ve recently driven the boss to the point of exasperation with their antics off the field.Lafferty gave his side’s biggest rivals the praise he felt they deserved for a performance against Serie A high-flyers Udinese in the Europa League tie that has been overshadowed by the offensive banner and flares that could land Celtic in trouble with UEFA once again.Lafferty said: “I watched their game with Udinese and it’s obvious the Italians are no pub team.“Celtic gave them a real game of it and I even felt they should have won in the end.“Celtic play some amazing football at times and now they have come out of the bad spell they had earlier in the season.“I wouldn’t go so far as to say our visit to their place for the last game of this year is a concern in any way but victory will go to the team who wants it the most and has the bottle to get a result.“Somebody’s going to have to find an extra gear that night.”Ally McCoist has acknowledged his team have started to find it easier to play well away from home than they do at Ibrox and the struggle against Terry Butcher’s side was another illustration of how true that is.But Lafferty knows too much about Old Firm matches to fall into the trap of saying it’s better for Rangers to be playing Celtic away from Ibrox.He said: “I’m not sure we’d be more comfortable playing Celtic there than at our own place.“There’s going to be a lot of noise at Celtic Park and that’s why the team who has the bottle for it will ultimately win the game.“Both squads are around the same level, which is why it’s going to be about whoever wants it most on the night.“Rangers have to take comfort from the fact we’re still four points clear at the top of the league table so there’s no need for us to be worried about anything going into the second Old Firm derby of the season.“But at the same time we know there’s a long way to go before we can think we’ve won four in a row.” Lafferty was relieved to have bagged the winner after passing up an earlier chance to score at the weekend but not as relieved as his manager after watching Rangers flirt with the possibility of a draw or even worse.Caley Thistle missed a succession of chances and were angered by the denial of two penalty claims.Lafferty said: “I missed a sitter and we are going through a bad time while still managing to win.“It’s true we’re more settled as a team when we play away from home and I knew it would be hard against Caley Thistle.“We’re not playing well and are having to grind out results. However, Inverness did enough to contradict the fans who think a team like Rangers should automatically be better than a side like them.”Lafferty’s move from Burnley three years ago has gradually brought him to the conclusion Scottish football’s highest level is tougher than England’s second tier.He said: “It might have been the case a few years ago that the Old Firm would make a habit of taking four or five goals off some teams but that’s unrealistic today.“The SPL has definitely become harder because teams are capable of attracting better players.“That’s why the days have gone when the opposition would go to Ibrox or Celtic Park and play five in defence and sit back while they defied you to score.“Now they want to get the ball down and play a bit, like Caley Thistle, and that’s the reason why Scotland is harder than anything I experienced in England.“That’s also the explanation why it took me a while to adjust to Scotland where everybody you face wants to beat the Old Firm.”St Mirren will be next, on Christmas Eve in Paisley, to test Rangers’ resolve while they go through a period of looking far from convincing.But Lafferty believes he knows what it will take for his side to come out the other side of their uncertainty and rediscover championship-winning form on a regular basis in the second half of the season.He said: “It will take what got us to the place where we won three titles in a row.“It will need every player in the squad to dig deep, stick together and understand those are the qualities that make Rangers the defending champions.”And presumably Rangers will need to play some amazing football against Celtic to match the side who’re capable of having that word applied to their game by the Ibrox player the Hoops fans like least of all.Lafferty praises Celtic before the live television showdown. Please do not adjust your set.Sorry for formatting, haven't seen this posted either.Is it mind games, or is he speaking the truth? TBH if ours players were to say anything in the rhags, I'd prefer an article such as this than saying that we are much better than the scum. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunslinger 270 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 putting all the pressure on them. clever from him and wylde. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheikh Salim 215 Posted December 19, 2011 Author Share Posted December 19, 2011 putting all the pressure on them. clever from him and wylde.What rhag or link is there for what Wylde has said? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mithrandir713 8 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 He wasn't going to come out and say we'd hump them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheikh Salim 215 Posted December 19, 2011 Author Share Posted December 19, 2011 He wasn't going to come out and say we'd hump them.I would hope not, but he had an option to say nothing about them and just say we are focusing on ourselves... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Jela 20,371 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 I would hope not, but he had an option to say nothing about them and just say we are focusing on ourselves...That's never an option for some of our players, some of them love the spotlight. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don81 2,840 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Mind games surely. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunslinger 270 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 That's never an option for some of our players, some of them love the spotlight.we also have contracts to provide players to papers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheikh Salim 215 Posted December 19, 2011 Author Share Posted December 19, 2011 That's never an option for some of our players, some of them love the spotlight.Step forward Big Jig! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hutchy WATP 462 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Laff and Wyldes comments caused an argument between me and the old man. We agree on the fact that if we don't buck up our general play and our attacking most importantly we could run into trouble at the glitterdome but in his eyes our own players shouldn't be putting us down. I agreed with a few posting in here that it was the mind games starting and if I'm totally honest I'm glad its us doing some of it instead of them for a change Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_ger 1,454 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Yeah if he was going to speak I would rather this than anything that might fire them up. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan_1 1,136 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Part mind games, part telling the truth.I wouldn't say Celtic are amazing, far from it, but if we play anything like we've been playing recently then Celtic will have a field day with us. We need to up our game and I think the players know that.First things first though, St. Mirren at St. Mirren Park. We should be looking at improving for that game, rather than thinking a game ahead. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheikh Salim 215 Posted December 19, 2011 Author Share Posted December 19, 2011 Could anybody please post what Wylde said? Can't find it Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamieD 18,986 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Put it this way, this is the exact opposite of the PR that has come out of Parkhead in the last three seasons, and they have capitulated in the last three seasons.I approve of Mr Lafferty's words. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hutchy WATP 462 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Could anybody please post what Wylde said? Can't find it http://www.<No links to this website>/football/spl/rangers/2011/12/18/rangers-star-gregg-wylde-we-ll-get-old-firm-doing-if-we-keep-playing-like-this-86908-23644290/GREGG WYLDE last night warned Celtic could make Rangers suffer in the Old Firm derby – unless the Ibrox men raise their game.Ally McCoist’s side struggled badly yesterday before Kyle Lafferty’s winner seven minutes from time saw off Inverness 2-1 and restored their seven-point lead.But the Scotland Under-21 star admits they could be in trouble if they keep giving away the chances they did in an incredible second-half spell.Caley hit the post, had one cleared off the line, one wrongly chopped off for offside and scored, all in the space of 15 mad minutes. They also had two strong penalty claims denied either side of the break.Wylde sighed: “It was great to get the result but the performance just wasn’t good enough. We all know that.“I’m not sure what’s missing but we need to get back to the training ground and work on a few things.“We got off the hook with a couple of their chances but we might not get away with that as the season goes on. Teams like Celtic will pick us off but if we play as well as we did before, we will be okay.”Despite Wylde’s concern Ibrox boss McCoist insists he’s not losing sleep over the Old Firm game at Parkhead in 10 days.He said: “I’m not really worried about the Old Firm game because it’s away from home so it’s different.“I’m not saying I’d rather play them away but we’ve looked comfier away from home generally and I think that game will take care of itself. We have St Mirren to focus on before that.“But there’s no denying it was a close call against Inverness. I’m not sure whether we’re waiting for things to happen rather than making them happen but I was far happier with the second half attitude.“I asked the boys for a reaction at the break and I think we got it.“The three points are the most important thing.”sorry about the formatting Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheikh Salim 215 Posted December 19, 2011 Author Share Posted December 19, 2011 http://www.<No links to this website>/football/spl/rangers/2011/12/18/rangers-star-gregg-wylde-we-ll-get-old-firm-doing-if-we-keep-playing-like-this-86908-23644290/sorry about the formatting Oi Cheeeky!Cheers Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hutchy WATP 462 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Oi Cheeeky!Cheers Wasn't having a dig mate, the quote I made from the article looked a shambles first time I seen it Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
FirrhillLoyal 318 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Clever. But let's be honest, it's Celtics game to win. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheikh Salim 215 Posted December 19, 2011 Author Share Posted December 19, 2011 Wasn't having a dig mate, the quote I made from the article looked a shambles first time I seen it Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Jela 20,371 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 we also have contracts to provide players to papers.And how is it you know this ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creampuff 22,628 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Putting the pressure on them.No problem with anything he's said. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figo 91 Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Clever. But let's be honest, it's Celtics game to win.Unfortunate. But true. Never know though. Might be an Ortiz hat trick waiting there... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunslinger 270 Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 celtc should stroll this game. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
delparlane 5,679 Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Coisty: “I asked the boys for a reaction at the break and I think we got it." Nitpicking here, but for a change I'd love for Ally to ask them that before the match kicks off. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
albluenose1990 29 Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Big Jig always comes out with some crackers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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