Garner: I’m no bad boy

He committed more fouls than anyone else last season but Rangers new boy Garner insists...

SOME of the most intriguing statistics to have followed Joe Garner north from Preston have nothing to do with his primary business of goalscoring.

Twelve bookings and one red card during last season formed a fairly eye-catching disciplinary tally for a centre-forward.

Furthermore, according to WhoScored.com, no player committed more fouls, or was on the receiving end of more fouls, throughout the entirety of the Championship. Clearly, Garner was never very far from a referee’s attention, whether as sinner or sinned against.

He readily admits that he likes to be aggressive against defenders. And many Rangers fans would feel their team needs more of precisely that quality inside the opposition area.

As he prepares for a likely debut against Kilmarnock tonight, however, the £1.5million signing rejects the notion that he somehow deserves one of football’s cliched ‘bad-boy’ badges.

Instead, Garner insists his crime count was more a function of carrying out orders as Preston successfully scrapped to stay well clear of relegation trouble in England’s second tier.

‘Misunderstood could be the word,’ said the 28-year-old, when asked about his record. ‘The way we played last year was part of it. In League One we had a lot of the ball and created a lot of chances.

‘Coming up into the Championship as a promoted team we then had our own style of play to stay in there. We finished 11th in the league so it was a good year for us all. The gaffer had a way of setting up and that was his way of playing. We pressed high and tried not to let the other team out by playing that high press.

‘But do I think it’s important not to be intimated by defenders? Yeah, most definitely. I give as much as I get and I look forward to that.’

Garner scored just six times in the Championship after 27 the season before. The way Preston played in League One could, however, be closer to the style he will now encounter with Rangers.

‘The year before at Preston we had something like 70 to 80 per cent of possession at times,’ reflected Garner. ‘The manager here knows my strengths and weaknesses. I’ll work on my weakness in training and develop my strengths.

‘We have a lot of talented players and we have a lot of the ball. The team creates a lot of chances and, hopefully, I can get in the box and get a few goals.’

An outing at Rugby Park would provide a chance of a positive first impression. Garner is well aware, though, that Rangers players will be more readily judged in the following fixture.

He may be Lancashire born-and-

bred but the significance of the September 10 visit to Celtic Park hasn’t eluded him.

‘Since Rangers’ interest came out, my phone hasn’t stopped ringing with people asking for tickets,’ admitted Garner. ‘There is a big buzz about the city over the game and it’s a worldwide fixture really. I’m buzzing to be part of it.

‘I have never been to one but I did watch a few on TV. I’ve heard about the atmosphere and I just want to embrace it. Will my style suit the derby? We’ll soon see.

‘It’s a massive game and all the lads are looking forward to it but we have Kilmarnock on Friday and most of the concentration is going on that at the minute.’

The Ayrshire assignment will also provide Garner with a chance to meet a former manager. He spent a six-month loan spell with Lee Clark at Huddersfield in season 2010-11.

‘Lee Clark did really well there and he had a long unbeaten record,’ reflected Garner. ‘He is a top manager and I wish him all the best at Kilmarnock. I’m sure he will be looking to get the three points.

‘I’ve had a few training sessions now and I am available for the match but I know the lads have done well. It would be good to get a game in but that’s down the gaffer and I will roll with it.

‘Do I feel the quality here is a step up? Most definitely. The intensity the lads train at is second to none. The backroom staff put a helluva lot of work into the training sessions, never mind the games.

‘Through speaking to the gaffer, and with the way he sets things up, you can see everybody goes out at the weekend knowing their jobs and what he wants from them. No stone is left unturned.’

Garner is patently hungry to get going at Rangers. Yet he revealed he could actually have been blooded into Scottish football almost a decade ago.

Coming out of Blackburn’s academy in 2007, he was ready to take his first steps in the senior ranks. Dundee United were keen to bring him north of the border but he performed a last-minute U-turn to head back to England.

‘I ended up going to Carlisle on loan with Eric Kinder, my old youth team manager, who was there,’ added Garner.

‘I had walked round Dundee United’s ground. I had a pal who had driven me up but I ended up getting in the car and going down the road again to sign for Carlisle. The rest is history.

‘I was really close to signing, to be fair. But Eric did all he could to get me and that was that.

‘Craig Levein was United manager at the time. Was he happy with me? It’s a long story...’