DEE LOAN STAR KEEN TO AVOID RANGERS

Dundee loanee Ben Williamson is determined to keep up his level of performance at Dens Park.

It’s not only to keep his place in the Dark Blues starting XI, but also to catch the eye of whoever the next Rangers manager might be.

Being handed a big tie in tonight’s Scottish Cup draw might be an opportunity for the young midfielder to show his talent to a wider audience – as long as Dundee don’t draw his parent club.

“I don’t want Rangers as I can’t play against them so I hope we avoid them,” Williamson said after the 6-2 third-round win over Airdrieonians.

“No matter who we get though, we will go into the game with confidence because we believe we can beat anyone.”

That belief comes from an impressive run of form for the 21-year-old.

Williamson’s midfield display on Saturday gained the man of the match award, despite six goals being scored by the Dark Blues.

And, as much as he’s keen to remind his parent club he is still around, continuing that good form at Dens Park is all that matters.

FROM PAGE 56: Williamson added: “I have had to wait for my chance and I started off quite slowly here.

“Thankfully in the last few games I have done quite well, now I need to keep those standards up.

“I know I can’t afford to slacken off here or I will lose my place.

“We have a lot of quality in the squad and it is hard to get into the middle of the park. People are always desperate to impress so you have to keep doing the business.

“I was delighted to be the man of the match, but at the end I couldn’t feel my legs, I was knackered!

“I am loving it here so far. We have a great bunch of boys.

“I could have stayed at Rangers but wanted to come and play games and test myself.

“It’s great to play men’s football and I have to keep impressing here and hopefully the new Rangers manager will take notice.”

Williamson is in regular contact with the Ibrox club through a man well known to Dundee.

Though he played 399 times for rivals Dundee United, Billy Kirkwood ended his playing career at Dens Park in 1988.

He is now the Rangers loan manager, tasked with keeping an eye on the young talent on the Gers books plying their trade elsewhere.

“I get a lot of feedback from Billy Kirkwood and he has been at a lot of the games,” Williamson added.

“We speak every week and do analysis and he tells me what I need to do better.

“He phones me or we meet up and we chat about things. He has told me I need to add goals to my game.

“I want to impress Dundee but there is a change of manager at Rangers and I want to impress. Hopefully I can keep doing what I am doing right now and catch their eye.

“I have a year left on my contract after this season at Rangers but my full focus is on Dundee right now.”