Ibrox test will be no easier, says Rankin

Published on Sunday 5 February 2012 00:00

T HE headlines surrounding the future of Rangers and their failure to bring anyone in to replace striker Nikica Jelavic have been largely unavoidable during the past week.

But John Rankin, the Dundee United midfielder, believes the off-field problems at Ibrox will have no bearing on the contest when his team meet them in the Scottish Cup today.

Rangers lost top scorer Jelavic to Everton and the club’s fans suffered the indignity of seeing manager Ally McCoist unable to bring anyone in as his replacement, having jettisoned a stream of unimpressive trialists from the Murray Park training complex throughout the month of January.

With the speculation surrounding Rangers’ finances, it has been easy to forget that one of their biggest afternoons of the season arrives today against United.

Rankin, like everyone, is aware there appears to be serious problems on the horizon for Rangers but maintains that the players involved in the match won’t be thinking of anything other that cup progress today. “We have not paid much attention to what’s been happening at Rangers,” he admitted, before rejecting the idea that United’s chances of winning has been strengthened in the last week.

“All the stories this week are irrelevant to the game because Rangers are always a massive test and they are always difficult to play against. And I doubt their players will be thinking of anything other than winning.

“You have got to give Rangers the respect they deserve because they are a quality side. If you do that you can still go and put on a quality performance. Although we lost there in the league in November, I felt we played well and had good chances. Jelavic was the difference between the sides on that occasion. He is away now but they still have plenty of quality so nobody here is thinking it’s going to be anything other than a huge task.”

With the game live on television it is unlikely Ibrox will be full for United’s visit and Rankin admits that will create a surreal atmosphere. He said: “If it’s a smaller crowd than usual it can be quite eerie. I don’t think it does anything to help the away side because it isn’t what you are used to when you go through there.

“Obviously it’s a massive tie and it’s going to be difficult, but these are the type of games you are looking to play in albeit that we’re not that far on in the cup. You make a massive result if you get a result at a place like Ibrox, not only for the cup but in the league as well and it could really kick you on in the SPL We are desperate to do it and prove a point. We just have to go, play the way we can and see if we can get through to the next round. We are playing some great stuff right now and what we need to do is put two halves together and we can come out on a high.”

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Scotland world cup victory

Monday, February 6, 2012 at 08:49 AM

Well done DUFC!

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S0FBTRC

Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 02:52 PM

"Armchair loyal". That would explain the home crowd today. 2-0 flattered ra Berz.

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