SAYS RYAN JACK
GAVIN BERRY
sport@dailyrecord.co.uk day they stop giving you stick is when you start worrying.
“I didn’t make a decision to come to Rangers for anyone else or to worry about what anyone’s opinions were. It was entirely down to me and my gut feeling and what I wanted to do. What everyone says I can’t control.”
While the abuse in the bar was over the top thankfully Jack hasn’t been confronted by a fan on the park the way his skipper was against Hibs on Friday.
That was followed by further incidents south of the border 48 hours later and Jack said: “There isn’t any place in the game for the incidents we’ve seen recently.
“The individuals deciding to come on to the field and confront and assault players need to be dealt with.
“Whether that’s a jail sentence or lifetime bans from football, whatever, there is definitely no place for that in the game.
“I’ve played in a lot of games where it’s been hostile and every tackle is cheered like a goal but I’ve never felt unsafe on a pitch. James deserves credit for the way he handled it because it’s not easy, especially in the heat of the moment in a big game and adrenaline running high. “He dealt with it brilliantly. “If you look over the weekend there were some great games of football live on TV and all we’re talking about are individuals who have decided to enter the field of play and attack players.
“It’s frustrating because you don’t want to be giving these guys headlines when the football should be talked about.”
There is sure to be an electric atmosphere at Ibrox tonight with Gers and Dons battling it out in what is realistically both clubs’ best chance of silverware.
Jack knows just how much his former boss Derek McInnes will have the Dons - one defeat in the last six against the Light Blues - fired up.
He said: “I’m sure he’ll get the team riled up, telling his team to get in our faces and stop us playing by going man for man.
“They’ll have belief as they’ve beaten us a couple of times but we have to focus on ourselves and we want to get the club to a semi-final and if we turn up and play as we can then that will be the case.”