‘I’ll be playing next season’
ROSS COUNTY V KILMARNOCK
STEVEN DAVIS is determined to continue playing next season as he looks to clinch the Premiership title and a new Rangers deal sooner rather than later.
The Northern Irishman has been a mainstay of Steven Gerrard’s side once again this term and his influence on and off the park has been crucial to Rangers’ silverware success.
Davis is out of contract at the end of the campaign but has shown no signs of slowing down and is eager to continue pulling on his boots for the foreseeable future.
“I don’t know,” Davis said when asked if this was the best form of his career. “That’s for other people to say. But I’m certainly enjoying my football and the role I have in the team as well. It was a big decision for me to come back. I wanted to come back and try to have success again here and play a major role in it. I’m just delighted with the way the season has gone so far both for me personally and as a group. As I say, we want to try and finish the season as strongly as possible. There’s still a lot for us to try and achieve this year and play for.
“Both the club and myself have had the same approach which was really to just focus on the football and try to get ourselves in a position that whenever the time came too talk we were ready to do that.
“I’ve got a very open relationship with both the gaffer and Ross (Wilson) and we’re constantly talking anyway. I just want to enjoy my football and
I’m doing that. I’m sure I’ll be playing on next season.”
DUNDEE United manager Micky Mellon insists it will not only be Celtic under pressure at Tannadice tomorrow if Rangers move another step closer to the title 24 hours earlier.
The Parkhead side face the prospect of handing their bitter rivals their first title in a decade if they fail to match Rangers’ result today. It is a nightmare scenario for a Parkhead support who have already gone through the anguish of seeing their 10-in-a-row dream crumble.
But events at Ibrox could also have major consequences for Mellon’s United side and their hopes of marking their Premiership return with a top-six finish. As things stand, the
Tannadice side require favours elsewhere if they are to pip Jim Goodwin’s St Mirren for a slot in the upper half.
But he admits a Rangers win on Saturday could leave his side feeling just as much strain as John Kennedy’s Celts.
He said: “I think if Rangers win on Saturday it puts a bit of pressure on us because it then gives us an opportunity and the door opens for Dundee United.
“If Rangers don’t beat St Mirren on Saturday then that door pretty much closes on us. If they do and we can beat Celtic then we’re bang back in it. And that’s all we’ll concentrate on. We’re all about Dundee United trying to perform and move forward.”
ALAN POWER believes Kyle Lafferty can produce something “out of the ordinary” to spare Kilmarnock from the ignominy of relegation.
The former Rangers striker made his first start for the club last weekend after signing on a short-term deal and helped them secure a first point in nine games. Power hopes the Northern Irishman’s creativity will be key in the run-in, starting this afternoon.
“You saw Kyle’s qualities against Dundee United last weekend,” said Power. “He can pull things out of nowhere like when he hit the crossbar. I hadn’t even seen him take a shot like that in training and he has the confidence to do that in a game.
“That’s what we need – people to do stuff that’s out of the ordinary and not just look for the easy chances. I’ve played against him before so I already knew he was a handful. But I didn’t appreciate just how big he was until I saw him in the flesh right beside me.
“He’s been good for the other strikers who can learn a lot from him. We just want him to score some goals now.”
County are also fighting for their lives and Power knows today’s contest in is going to be a battle. “It will be a real up-and-at-’em game. Our players will have to come to the forefront now and stand up to that. It might not be pretty but we have to come away with three points,” he said.