SKIPPER EYES ROAD TO HAMPDEN
GARY RALSTON
THE disgust at his treatment at Hibs is matched only by his determination to finally land silverware as Rangers skipper.
James Tavernier has spoken of his anger at being confronted by a supporter on Friday night and forced to defend himself from an attack at Easter Road.
The sight of the full-back being confronted by a Hibs fan who ran from the same section of the East Stand where a bottle was launched at Scott Sinclair only a week earlier has shocked Scottish football.
Tavernier, 27, opened up on the dismay he felt over the half-time incident as he went to retrieve the ball from the side of the pitch after referee Steven McLean blew for the interval. Tavernier escaped shaken but unscathed as police moved in to arrest a 21-year-old man on a night in which Ibrox title hopes were holed with a 1-1 draw in a game they should have won out of g.ralston@dailyrecord.co.uk sight in the first half. Celtic may have failed to take full advantage with their goalless draw against Aberdeen the following day but still hold a comfortable eightpoint cushion heading into the last quarter of the campaign.
Realistically, the season for Rangers – and Aberdeen – is on the line tomorrow night when they meet in the Scottish Cup quarter-final replay at Ibrox as Steven Gerrard bids to bring major silverware to the club for the first time in eight years.
It would also represent significant success for the new manager in his first season in charge, building on the qualification for his new club to the group stage of the Europa League last summer.
Tavernier said: “Even before Friday night, every game was important. We said before the Hibs match we had to win every match and so it was definitely a back step.
“The replay is a crucial match. We have to do everything in our power to put our full focus into that game and give everything we’ve got. The lads know we have improved our squad massively this season when we’ve had a lot of new boys come into the group.
“Guys like Jermain Defoe and others do not expect to come here and not win anything. They have come to this team because they want to win trophies and want to win medals. A club like Rangers can’t go on for any more seasons without any silverware.
“We can’t have this feeling from the Hibs game lingering on. We must fix what we need to fix and put a very good performance on against Aberdeen because that is what it’s going to take to put us through.”
Celtic lie in wait at Hampden for the conquerors of the Ibrox clash and for Rangers it now seems their most realistic chance of trumping their arch rivals in the trophy stakes this season.
Gerrard’s squad may be unbeaten in their last 11 matches, stretching back to that 2-1 reverse at Rugby Park in January, but the manager knows there have been far too many draws – eight alone in their 29 league fixtures to date.
Rangers have failed to display a ruthless streak, typified by their performance at Hibs as they drew with the capital club for the third time this season, the only club Gerrard has yet to taste victory against in the domestic campaign.
Tavernier said: “After Hibs you could use the words ‘disappointing’ or ‘raging’, that we had to come in after a good first 45 minutes and felt we should have been two, three goals up.
“We’ve played them three times now and believe we have created a lot of chances and yet have not put them in the back of the net. In moments like this we must see out these matches.
“The gaffer’s said before we go three steps forward, one step back and the match against Hibs was another in which we stepped back.
“Throughout the season, including Europe, we have seen games out so it was disappointing not to do it. I still felt it was a foul on me leading up to their equaliser but it is one of those occasions in which we have to defend properly, be resilient and put the game to bed.”
There was at least some comfort for Rangers after the game as fans fretted the booking to Connor Goldson would rule him out of the league visit to Celtic.
JAMES TAVERNIER
The match could effectively signal an eight-in-a-row coronation for the reigning champs if they win and Goldson picked up his sixth caution of the season for a foul on Marc McNulty.
But the SFA have confirmed bans in the SPFL only kick in after six cautions if they have been accrued in the first 19 matches of the league season. After halfway point the suspension point is extended to 12 cautions.