Only wins will silence my critics, says Garner

JOE GARNER insists helping Rangers record vital victories in the battle for second place has been the best way to silence his critics. The £1.8million striker has faced flak for his contribution since moving north from Preston, with Sky Sports pundit Neil McCann claiming Mark Warburton’s tactics had left him ‘in the wrong movie’. Boss Warburton offered a public defence of his most expensive signing — who has scored three goals for the club — before dropping him to the bench at Tynecastle 12 days ago. Garner was, however, restored to the starting line-up for the subsequent win over Aberdeen and earned an Ibrox ovation for his role in Saturday’s 2-0 success against Hearts. Asked about the criticism, the 28-year-old Englishman said: ‘To be fair, I don’t really take much notice of it all. ‘I just go out there on a Saturday and give all I have for the shirt. I let everyone

else do their jobs, and I do mine. It’s one of those things, everyone’s got their own opinions. I just go out every week and give it all I can. ‘While we’re picking up three points, then not many people will be saying too much.’ Rangers are now four points clear in second spot and hope to make it three Premiership wins in a row for the first time this season when they travel to Hamilton on Friday night. Unbeaten at Ibrox since September 2015, Garner knows greater consistency on their travels is now needed. ‘We will go through the Hearts game to look at it and then I am sure the gaffer will set us up the way he wants us to play on Friday night,’ he said. ‘Obviously, we need to start picking up points away and I am sure we will do that. It might take time but I’m sure we will. We look forward to the next game. ‘Has consistency been a missing factor? You could say that, but then you can look at the way we have won the last two games. ‘It could have been four or five in this one (against Hearts). We created a lot of chances and we are probably a little bit disappointed not to have a few more goals because of that. ‘But now we need to create chances in away games and put them away.’ Rangers have a chance to build momentum before runaway leaders Celtic visit on Hogmanay, but Garner is refusing to look too far ahead. ‘I think we have to concentrate on Friday and trying to pick up three points,’ he added. ‘We’ll all look forward to it.’