Nai split loyalties forJason at Ibrox
DESPITE the best efforts of his St Mirren-supporting dad, Jason Naismith grew up a Rangers fan.
But that won’t stop the Ross County full-back taking great pleasure in upsetting the home side at Ibrox today.
The Scotland Under-21 cap, signed from the Buddies in the summer, said: “This is always one to look forward to – one of the best stadiums in the country and quite possibly the best to play at.
“With St Mirren I missed out on playing Rangers in the top flight because they’d been demoted by then. But I played against them in the Championship.
“It was Mark Warburton’s first game with 50,000 there. It was a Friday night and the place was bouncing. It was something I’d always wanted to experience so it was a good moment.
“Steven Thompson missed a penalty at 2-1 which could have made it a draw. I still give him stick about it to this day. We pushed late on and lost 3-1 but it was still a good experience.
“My dad’s a mad St Mirren fan. He tried to get me into St Mirren and I went to their games but his own father was a Rangers fan which influenced me. All my mates are Rangers fans too so I ended up supporting them.
“I would see the Saints players every day and when you see what they’re actually like it’s harder to see them as heroes! But it was a proud moment for my dad when I went on to play for Saints.
“I’m a Paisley boy so I had St Mirren close to my heart as well but you can’t help who you love, can you?
“I’m a Rangers fan but I would love to go there and turn them over.
“Sometimes Rangers are vulnerable – every team is. I don’t think we can go there with any belief they are any better than us.
“It’s just 11 men against 11 men and if we play at our maximum we’ve got every chance of getting something out of the game.”