IBROX RAGE A FAMILY AFFAIR

STEVEN MACLEAN does not need to travel as far as Ibrox to be reminded that Rangers supporters are currently in a state of rage. The St Johnstone striker’s own brother William is one of the furious fans left fulminating over a loss of form by their erratic team and a lack of direction at the troubled Govan club. One point out of 12 and just one win in seven in the league has seen Rangers descend back towards the abyss, with manager Mark Warburton recently the subject of an acrimonious departure. ‘I know the Rangers fans are frustrated right now,’ said MacLean, who cancelled out Barrie McKay’s opener when the teams last met in Perth in December. ‘My wee brother William is among them. He goes to quite a few of the games and he says the fans are raging at the moment. ‘They just want their future sorted out. They want a new manager, a new director of football or head coach or whatever. They just want to get it sorted and to know where they are going. ‘We just need to take advantage of what’s going on at Rangers. And, hopefully, I can annoy my wee brother even more. He will be at the game on Wednesday night, with my dad and wee boy although they will both be on St Johnstone’s side. ‘My brother is like every other Rangers fan. He thought they were going well and would maybe even challenge Celtic this season. ‘Obviously, that’s not happened and it’s gone a bit belly-up at the moment.’ MacLean hopes to turn the Ibrox crowd against Rangers by grabbing an early lead. ‘Playing at Ibrox, you need to have big cojones,’ he smiled. ‘When you are at a big club, you need big character and you need to stand up and be counted. It’s not easy. ‘I played at a few big clubs, like Rangers and Sheffield Wednesday, and it’s not easy when things are not going well. ‘If you get in front and frustrate them, then you can see what it does to the home players. I’m not saying they fold, but you can see the confidence drain away from them.’