Smith’s target is to frustrate fans

NOBODY needs to tell Steven Smith about the intense pressure that comes with being a player in a struggling Rangers team. During his second spell at Ibrox, the 31-year-old witnessed frequent unrest off the pitch as Ally McCoist’s side toiled on it during their failed bid to reach the top flight. Now captain of Kilmarnock, with whom Smith returns to Govan tomorrow, he’ll be relishing playing a different part in that same old movie. Mark Warburton’s side have faltered since winning promotion. On Wednesday night, they were jeered off after a 1-1 home draw with St Johnstone left them fifth. Killie, by contrast, head along the M77 after the best performance of Lee Clark’s eight months in charge. Their thumping 2-0 win over high-flying Hearts was far more convincing than the scoreline suggested. And Smith admits his on-form side will arrive at Ibrox with the specific aim of turning the Rangers fans further against Warburton’s stuttering side. ‘I know what it’s like to be a Rangers player when you’re under pressure,’ he said. ‘And our game plan will be to go there and keep things tight for 10 or 15 minutes and then, hopefully, the crowd turns on them. I’ve seen them do it when I was there. ‘You learn a lot about yourself and the size of the club you’re playing for (when you are under pressure at Rangers). ‘The expectation levels are really high and when the crowd are on your back and things aren’t going well, it says a lot about a player if they are prepared to demand the ball and make something happen. When the pressure ramps up, it becomes even harder for them to do it. ‘Of course, Rangers have some great players and I’m sure they’ll try and do that but we’re going there to try and win the game. Can we win? Of course we can. ‘With the way Rangers play it’ll be all about what we do without the ball. Then, when we get possession, we’ve got to punish them. ‘We’ve got seven points from nine and two clean sheets in our last three so we’re heading in the right direction. We go to Ibrox after a big result against Hearts and our best performance of the season.’