Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
WE CAN’T SWITCH IT CONN & OFF
Two-goal Goldson’s stark warning to Gers
CONNOR Goldson insists his Rangers team-mates will keep their feet on the ground after Saturday’s stunning win - because they fear switching off for even 10 minutes could wreck their entire season.
Goldson grabbed both goals as Steven Gerrard’s men moved four points clear but is adamant that standards won’t be allowed to slip in the manner they did after their previous Parkhead victory in December.
Back then they returned from the winter break to fold in a title race that saw them fall 13 points behind Celtic, who were awarded the title when the season was curtailed by Covid-19.
Former Brighton stopper Goldson is determined to ensure that lightning doesn’t strike and believes Rangers’ focus won’t falter this time.
He said: “We know it is a massive season for the whole club and we know we have to be at it in every single game and every mi n u t e of every game. W e know a one or a 10 minute spell where we’re not at it can hurt us and hurt our whole season.
“We are j ust trying to be as consistent as we can, work as hard as we can in every single game and hopefully that takes us to where we want to be.
“We didn’t do ourselves justice after we won here last time. Coming back from the break we were poor, we didn’t look half the team we were before the break, so hopefully now this gives us the confidence we need to go on a good run.”
Steven Gerrard piled praise on unlikely goal hero Goldson, insisting he deserved his “Katic moment” even if it left both of them in shock.
The defender bulleted home an opener – much like Nikola Katic’s winner on their last visit to the east end – and followed it up by poking home a second goal. It was only the second double of the defender’s career.
And Gerrard said: “We know we’ve got the quality and if we put the balls in the right areas then it’s about having that hunger and desire to go and be a winner.
“Connor Goldson has won his team three points with two good finishes. I ’m shocked and he’s shocked!
“But Katic got all the credit last year for a fantastic header and rightly so. Connor deserves that moment now.”
Gerrard was delighted to see his side control the majority of the match but insists they can still be better.
He added: “I thought we showed a real mature professional performance. We scored two and could have scored one or two more.”