Players got caught up in themadness of Hibs .. we have to stay cool and be ruthless to beat Hearts

IBROX, TODAY, 3PM Tavernier warns Gers must keep their heads to stay focused on task

JAMES TAVERNIER has warned Rangers only the coolest heads will win the battle with the hardest of Hearts.

The Ibrox full-back has told his teammates they must display an ice-cold temperament after admitting they were “caught up in the madness” of last week’s controversy against Hibs.

Tavernier has shrugged off his early tussle with Anthony Stokes that set the tone for what was to come, absolving the Easter Road frontman’s tackle on him as part of the rough and tumble of the senior game.

But he concedes Rangers must be more ruthless in all areas of the pitch after they passed up chances to put Hibs to the sword before Simon Murray equalised and Ryan Jack was wrongfully dismissed in the 3-2 defeat.

The Light Blues are already playing catchup on their title rivals and Tavernier acknowledges Hearts will pose another physical threat today – so this time his side must show the “emotional balance” boss Pedro Caixinha lamented as being absent from their display seven days ago.

Tavernier said: “We’ve got to show greater ruthlessness definitely. That is something we really lacked last season.

“We got in good positions at the start of matches and even throughout them but we weren’t clinical enough about putting the ball in the back of the net.

“We have started off games well and are scoring early but it is ruthlessness we need. We need to be more clinical and put two and three away really early doors.

“When we get the chance we have to finish it because you can get punished at this level if you don’t. You have to be ruthless in every moment and with every chance in the final third.

“We expect certain teams to come at us aggressively. Obviously, we knew the Hibs game was going to be that way because of what happened last time we met in the Scottish Cup Final and everything that went on.

“We knew it was going to be a tasty game. It was just one of those when you can get caught up in the madness. You have to be switched on, level-headed and know when to control the situation.

“When I got fouled I lost my head a little bit. I’m not really sure what happened with Stokesy. It maybe looked worse than it actually was. The referee called it, he controls what happens on the pitch. He said we’d brought a crowd of players around us and had no choice but to book us.

“We have to learn from it. We have a good group of lads and we must appreciate teams are going to try to unsettle us. We must stay level-headed.

“Our tempers went higher last week than they should have been. We should have controlled them a little bit better but we have a good group and if we stick together we’ll learn from that.

“We don’t expect anything less than Hearts also trying to ruffle us up and make it really hard. They will try the rough game.

“They have Kyle Lafferty up front – a big, tall targetman, so they have different ways they can get up the pitch. But we’ve got Bruno Alves at the back and we have really progressive players who can deal with those situations. It should be a good match.”

Two draws in their opening four league fixtures last season put Rangers on the back foot from the off and a 5-1 thumping at Celtic Park was a blow from which they never recovered as they finished 39 points behind their oldest rivals.

Rangers have undertaken an extensive rebuild under Caixinha after becoming soft touches under their previous boss Mark Warburton but they will be subjected to even greater pressure if they don’t see off the Jambos.

Tavernier added: “We are only two games into the new season. It’s still the start but yes, it’s vital not to drop any more points.

“We want to win as many games as possible and playing at home the fans expect us to win them all. We must rectify what happened against Hibs and move on.

“We’re in a better place than last year. We went through a couple of formations at the start of pre-season and we feel the 4-4-2 is working well for us. The lads have really taken to it. “You can see how quickly we have started games, we have been really positive. It is now just about taking those chances. It is about finishing the game off really early and maintaining it after that – but I do feel we are stronger this year.” Jack won his red-card appeal after a disciplinary panel ruled he didn’t butt Stokes in a first-half flashpoint that ultimately turned the game in the favour of the Easter Road club. And Tavernier added: “We were disappointed with some of the decisions made but we have to move on. “The goals we lost were also disappointing. We should have been marking better, I think it was more individual mistakes than anything else and we need to learn from it. That is clear. “If there are 11 players on the pitch, it’s a more even game and anything can happen so I suppose we have to be judged in that situation, not when it’s 10 v 11. But we’re not looking for excuses. We know where we went wrong and we have to rectify it.” themselves in the Champions League after the most embarrassing capitulation from their team in Europe.”

said: “Hearing Rangers fans moan about Celtic picking up another £30million is rich. That is what happens when you run your club correctly and play fair. Karma is a wonderful thing.”

“How sad can you get that Rangers fans want Celtic to fail. Gers will struggle with Hearts to finish fourth in the Premiership this year.

“Will Rangers return the money Celtic’s qualification to the group stages has earned them? I don’t think so.”

had another take on all this. He said: “Do the Celtic supporters want their team to be hammered in Europe? A lot of them want paired with some glamour sides and they think it will be brilliant having some of Europe’s biggest clubs coming to Glasgow over the next few months.”

There was clearly a touch of the green-eyed monster in this offering from

He said: “Let’s hope Celtic can make history this year by gaining more points than fines.” On to Stuart Armstrong and

is unimpressed by the midfielder’s new deal. He said: “A one-year extension to his contract is hardly a sign of commitment from Armstrong.

“I’m very disappointed in him considering he’s had less than one good season of decent, consistent form.

“It’s clear he doesn’t see his future at Celtic Park, which is fair enough, so long as he doesn’t expect the support to be overjoyed at the news of his extension.”

Finally phoned in to praise former Rangers and Scotland skipper Barry Ferguson.

He said: “Two days before the Rangers v Hibs match, Neil Lennon said in the Daily Record there would be a lot of hype which meant nothing and was just noise.

“What a pleasure it was to read Ferguson’s column agreeing with Lennon and saying all those eejits who complained to the SFA and police should hang their heads in shame.”

JAMES TAVERNIER

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