Scorer tells noisy United fans: ‘It’s about respect’
Antonio Colak did not miss in front of goal – or in his celebration at Ibrox yesterday.
The Rangers striker hit a double to relieve the pressure on manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst after three heavy defeats in a row.
And after netting the first he put this finger to his lips in the classic “Shh!” gesture to the United supporters.
It was from that area of the ground that disrespectful singing was heard during the minute’s silence for the Queen.
“We were standing silently before the start of the game – everyone knows why,” said the Croatian. “It’s all about respect.”
“For me, when I scored, it was just my emotions. There was over 50,000 in the stadium and everybody had respect.
“But some people didn’t have that.
“I think in that moment everybody should understand that.
“Afterwards everybody showed the right way of showing respect.”
The disruption was not well received by the home support with Dundee United directors made aware of their displeasure.
And after the game, the Tannadice club issued a brief acknowledgement of the incident.
“Dundee United are aware of the actions of a small section of the crowd who chose to not respect the minute’s silence.
“As a club, ahead of the game we reached out to advise our supporters of the pre-match arrangements with the expectation that the minute’s silence would be observed.”
Rangers got the win but it was not convincing with Van Bronckhorst admitting his team need to start testing opposition goalkeepers more often.
“That is what we have to do better,” he said.
“We had some good chances. In the first minute we had a big chance. We had some shooting opportunities. If you start the game well at home it can be decided in the first 20 minutes.”
Colak agreed but promised there will better to come after the international break.
“If you lose three games in a row it can affect you,” he said
“We want to win every game and reach the highest level always. Sometimes if things don’t go for you then maybe you try to play safer.
“But we tried to run and run again and create chances.
“It can happen that it’s not so successful. But the important things is that you try and try again. Of course, you can make mistakes but today we won and that’s the most important thing.
“Now after this break we have we want to work on the details and be more effective with the chances we get.
“Then maybe score more goals.”