Barton left me smartin’but now we can create history..

HAMILTON playmaker Ali Crawford has great memories from the last time he played at Ibrox, and he is hoping to make some more today by sending Rangers crashing out of the Scottish Cup.

Unfortunately for Crawford, he does not however have the memento from his last visit to Govan that he craved, after Joey Barton failed to swap jerseys with him.

But considering that Crawford nutmegged the now departed Gers midfielder on his league debut, perhaps he can be forgiven for turning down the request.

Crawford will always look back on the day fondly though, particularly considering his stunning goal gave Accies the lead on the day before they were pegged back for a creditable draw.

“I actually asked for his strip after the game but I didn’t get it,” Crawford said. “I was disappointed because it would have been a good memento to have from scoring at Ibrox and nutmegging him.

“He didn’t say anything to me apart from ‘aye, I’ll give you my strip’ and then I never got it. I’ve played at Ibrox a couple of times actually and I came off the bench the last time they were here, but hopefully I’ll start there and score again. The goal at Ibrox is obviously up there with one of my best so far, it started the season off well for me personally and also for the club.

“If we can go back there and do the same again then I think we’ll have a great chance.

“They’ve not been in the best run of form recently, so it’s up to us to be on the front foot as soon as the game kicks off, get in their faces and make it uncomfortable for them as we did to Aberdeen.

“If we get the first goal then the crowd will turn on them and it won’t be a nice atmosphere for them to play in. It’s up to us to make it as difficult as possible for them.”

ANY time that Accies take on Rangers in the Scottish Cup, memories of their famous triumph at Ibrox in 1987 and Adrian Sprott’s winner are never far away.

Crawford says though that being reminded of that huge moment in Hamilton’s history inspires the current group to believe that they too can pull off a major upset today.

“It can be done, and you’ve seen Rangers in recent weeks not playing at their best,” he said. “Morton ran them close and we’ve done it ourselves earlier in the season. “We go in as massive underdogs, so we’ve got nothing to fear and hopefully we can do the same as we did against Aberdeen and get to Hampden for the semis. The league comes first obviously and you want to maintain your top-flight status, but you want to get to Hampden.

“I think maybe apart from Dougie Imrie, most of us have not had the experience of playing at Hampden or playing in a cup final, so to do that would be great.

“I think we have a great chance of getting there and it would be nice to still be talked about in 30 years’ time.

“We’ve got to give something for the fans to get excited about, they’ve not had much to cheer this season, so it would be good for them and good for the club in general.”

Crawford’s return as a substitute after a period on the sidelines through injury is a timely boost for Accies boss Martin Canning during a tough set of fixtures for his side.

“It’s good to be back,” he said. “It’s always hard to watch from the stands, but it was good to get some time on the pitch against Aberdeen, and hopefully that will set me up for Saturday as well.

“It’s a tough run of fixtures we have, but it was a good start on Tuesday night and hopefully we can take that into the Rangers game and get a win at Ibrox.”