DON’T COUNT US OUT
Rangers winger McKay vows title battle is on after Hearts are sent packing at Ibrox
RANGERS winger Barrie McKay last night insisted the Ibrox side have not abandoned hope of challenging Celtic for this season’s Premiership title.
The 21-year-old was the star turn in yesterday’s home match against Hearts, scoring the second goal in a 2-0 victory which consolidated Rangers’ position in second place in the league table.
Coupled with last weekend’s win over Aberdeen, it means Mark Warburton’s men have completed back-to-back victories over their two closest rivals in the Premiership standings, but McKay insists they are still intent on trying to reel in Brendan Rodgers’ unbeaten league leaders.
Celtic top the pile with a commanding lead of eight points — a margin that would more than double were the champions to prevail in each of their three fixtures in hand.
However, despite the apparent gulf between the teams, McKay was bullish after yesterday’s comprehensive performance.
‘It’s not over till it’s over,’ he said. ‘We will push it to the last day.
‘Other than Celtic, Hearts and Aberdeen are the teams battling with us at the top of the league.
‘We’ve beaten them both without being tested as much as you might have thought. We go into every
game looking to win. At this club the fans expect you to win too, no matter the league you are playing in.’
If McKay’s assessment seems overly optimistic as the Ibrox club continues its readjustment to the top flight after four seasons away, his personal performance in yesterday’s game was one of a young man full of conviction.
A strong performer as Rangers eased to the Championship title in Warburton’s first season, McKay earned a first call-up to Gordon Strachan’s Scotland squad for the end-of-season friendlies against Italy and France.
Although earmarked for a key role in the new campaign, he looked jaded in the opening months and was eventually removed from the frontline after the League Cup semi-final defeat to Celtic in October.
His spell on the sidelines ended with a return to the starting XI last weekend and yesterday he was back to his best, dribbling and passing with menace, and providing an assist for Rob Kiernan’s opener before turning in the second after half-time.
‘Barrie is a young player and we spoke to him,’ said Warburton of his decision to hand McKay a spell out of the team.
‘He was first choice last season and got a national call up. A lot came very early to him, but young players have dips.
‘With young players there is a lot of intensity so sometimes the best thing is to take them out of the limelight and let them work hard on the training ground, so they can get their form back. It happens to all of them.
‘It’s great to see him back, he has worked hard in training and I am delighted for him.
‘The old saying is that form is temporary but class is permanent. I have no doubt that Barrie McKay can go to the very top level. He can be as good as he wants to be and it was great to see him back to his best
today.’
McKay agreed that his spell on the bench was necessary to allow both his mind and body a rest.
‘I came out of the team and rightly so, because I wasn’t performing anywhere near the level of last season,’ he reflected. ‘That gave me the chance to recharge my batteries and now I feel really fresh.
‘The gaffer spoke to me and said it speaks volumes for your character if you can come through that. Hopefully this is me through it.
‘I had dipped. I was still probably trying the same things but they weren’t coming off as often.
‘I needed to freshen up mentally. Last season was the first time I had played nearly every game and then I went away with Scotland and my holiday got cut short.
‘Danny Wilson and Lee Wallace talked me through it. They told me to keep going and push myself back into the manager’s thoughts.’
Rangers’ win was a reverse of the scoreline when the teams last met at Tynecastle less than a fortnight ago.
While McKay talks boldly of what Rangers might achieve, he admits that night serves as a warning for the remainder of the campaign.
‘It was good to get three points and answer the questions that were put to us after Tynecastle,’ he added. ‘But our form needs to improve, especially away.
‘We went to Tynecastle and didn’t perform to the level we could. That gave us a kick up the backside.
‘We have answered a lot of questions in these last two games. Teams are definitely starting to fear coming to Ibrox again.’
I have no doubt that Barrie McKay can go to the very top level