Ross reckons that Rangers are beatable

JACK ROSS last night backed his Hibs side to bounce back from their defeat at Celtic Park by beating Rangers.

Steven Gerrard takes his on-form Ibrox side along the M8 to Easter Road on Friday night. And, despite seeing his team lose 2-0 yesterday, Ross saw enough to suggest they are capable of carving out what would be the biggest win of his reign in Leith to date against the other half of the Old Firm.

He said: ‘Friday against Rangers is a different dynamic as we are playing at home. It will be a different match.

‘And if we can take the pluses from today — and if we do certain elements of the game better — then we have a strong belief we can win that match.

‘We knew coming into these two fixtures how big a challenge they would be. Both teams have been relentless this season. They have been so consistent. Not only are they both getting good results but they are both playing well, too.

‘But by and large, over the past five or six games, we have seen a lot more good things than bad from my team.’

However, Ross is sweating over the fitness of goalkeeper Ofir Marciano for the clash against Rangers.

The Israel international was replaced at half-time yesterday by Chris Maxwell after aggravating a calf problem. ‘We didn’t want to take any chances with it,’ said Ross. ‘It’s unfortunate because it’s not a substitution you expect to have to make.

‘It uses one up when you need all three outfield subs at this type of venue. We will assess Ofir on Tuesday morning and see how it is.’ Meanwhile, attacker Martin Boyle believes Hibs shot themselves in the foot at Celtic Park.

The 26-year-old thought his side were too open and that individual errors at both goals were their undoing.

Boyle said: ‘We wanted to be on the front foot and try and hurt Celtic the best we could — but we were a bit too open and were punished for it. We paid the price for giving the ball away in two crucial areas — that is what really cost us.

‘I felt like we were coming into the game, but then we gave the ball away in a counter-attack and we were made to pay.’

The only effort Hibs had on target was a header towards his own goal by Celtic defender Christopher Jullien that drew a fine instinctive save from Fraser Forster.

But Boyle believes the game could have been different had his shot from the edge of the box at 0-0 been inches to the left.

‘I was about to celebrate when I saw the ball go wide,’ he sighed. ‘The game could have gone either way if that had gone in, but it didn’t and there’s no point looking back on it.

‘Anyway, I don’t really think we created enough clear-cut chances to win the game. But we’ve got a big chance to bounce back on Friday against Rangers.

‘We are at home and know what is at stake. It will be a crucial three points and hopefully we will get a good home crowd behind us and get a positive result.

‘Rangers are without Alfredo Morelos through suspension? I didn’t know that, but they have other players who can come in and hurt us.

‘Are we seeking revenge for losing 6-1 at Ibrox in August? You could say that but if we can just get the three points we will be happy.

‘However, we are all only too well aware that we will need to be at our best.’