Broadfoot has a plan to turn up Ibrox heat

KIRK BROADFOOT does not have to be told what it’s like to play under intense pressure at Ibrox.

Yes, the 33-year-old’s five-year spell with Rangers between 2007 and 2012 included plenty of good times, including being part of a side that reached the 2008 UEFA Cup final in Manchester and won three consecutive league titles.

But when things weren’t going so well, Broadfoot remembers how the atmosphere at their home ground became a huge test of a player’s mental resilience.

It’s an experience the current squad will undoubtedly have to endure this evening, having already been lambasted by manager Pedro Caixinha following Sunday’s 2-0 Betfred Cup semi-final defeat to Motherwell.

Broadfoot, now plying his trade with tonight’s visitors Kilmarnock, is wary of Caixinha’s men taking out their frustrations from the weekend against the Ayrshire side.

But he also believes the Rugby Park team can use the high levels of anxiety currently within the Ibrox ranks — and within the stands — to their advantage.

‘It’s always a tough place to go,’ said Broadfoot (below). ‘I don’t think it’s a good time to go to Ibrox. They will be wanting to get a reaction, but we will go there with a plan.

‘If we get the crowd frustrated, get them on their backs, hopefully that will play into our hands.

‘But to play with Rangers or Celtic, you have to have that mental strength. You need to be strong, keep taking the ball and keep making things happen.

‘I think the players at Rangers do have that mental strength and there will be a reaction. We need to look out for that and try to deal with it.’

Having moved from Rotherham to Rugby Park in the summer, tonight’s match will be Broadfoot’s first game back at Ibrox since leaving for Blackpool in 2012.

He was part of a Rangers squad with some big personalities, and says that self-belief and swagger they had was vital when handling the frustration of fans.

‘I’ve a few memories of the crowd being on your back, but that is part and parcel of being at a massive club,’ he said. ‘You are going to have highs and lows, and you just need to have a strong mindset.

‘Not everyone handles it but I was lucky enough to play in quite a successful Rangers team. We had big players and when the chips were down, more often than not, those players came up with the goods.’

Killie are now under the stewardship of former West Brom and Reading boss Steve Clarke following the departure of Lee McCulloch, and Broadfoot has already been impressed with the quality of the first few training sessions taken by the new manager ahead of his first match in charge.

Clarke, who worked with worldclass players during his time as a first-team coach at Chelsea, has brought a wealth of experience to the Premiership strugglers from the top level of the game.

With no match last weekend, the players have had extra time to adjust to his demands following their first win of the season away to Partick Thistle, a clash Clarke watched from the stands. ‘It has been good so far,’ added Broadfoot. ‘Training has been good and everything is structured to the way we want to play. ‘You can see he has been at a really high level. We just have to do the best we can and try to put across the points he’s making.’