'Best referee in country' made right decisions at Ibrox, insists Kevin Thomson

IN WHAT could easily be interpreted as a subtle dig at Celtic, the Rangers midfielder Kevin Thomson has hailed Dougie McDonald as the finest referee in Scotland and admitted he has regularly passed on such sentiment to the official.

Celtic remain angered by McDonald's decision to send off Scott Brown during last Sunday's Old Firm encounter at Ibrox, added to the referee's unwillingness to refer an appeal over the red card to an independent review panel. Amid increasingly scathing statements from Parkhead, Thomson opted to speak in positive terms about the Edinburgh official. "I thought the referee was good on Sunday and in my opinion Dougie McDonald is the best in the country," said the former Hibernian captain.

"I have said that to him numerous times. I always tell him it is has been a pleasure, at the end of games, as I think he's a good referee.

"If you make a bad decision you will be criticised, if you play poorly you will get criticism and if you play well you will be praised. To tell a referee he has done well is part of the game." Thomson added in jest: "I get a lot of yellow cards so I want to make Dougie my pal."

Thomson's manager, Walter Smith, had stressed in the aftermath of Sunday's game that McDonald had been put under undue pressure by the leaking of news that Celtic had concerns regarding a series of refereeing decisions earlier this season.

"I felt on Sunday the decisions he made were good ones as he was always going to be in the spotlight and under pressure," Thomson explained. "Whether other referees could have handled that I don't know. He coped terrifically.

"I thought he handled the game well. There are always flashpoints and always controversy, and because of what had been said beforehand there was always going to be a big thing afterwards."

Thomson did offer some sympathy towards Brown, his best friend. "I knew he was due a three-match ban and you never want to see fellow professionals getting suspended," he said. "But the SFA are the people who decide what Scott deserves and it's got nothing to do with me."

After a week in which so much conjecture and debate has surrounded Brown and Celtic, Thomson hinted that the lack of attention given to Rangers' showing, particularly in the second half of their Old Firm victory, rankled to an extent.

"For us as a group, you get a bit frustrated when you don't feel you are getting the credit you deserve," he admitted.

"But at the end of the day whatever is written in the press is irrelevant. We just have to keep on getting down to business and listening to what the manager tells us. He says every week that, regardless of how far we are in front (in the SPL], we need to keep going."

Smith, who could be without Madjid Bougherra as St Mirren visit Ibrox this afternoon because of a hamstring problem, refused to be drawn into Celtic's ongoing battles with officialdom.

"The main thing about last week was that we managed to win the game," said the manager. I felt we played very well in the second half of the game and everyone inside our own camp knows we did that as well. That's the main thing."

Smith's attention is drawn more towards the avoidance of complacency within his squad. Victory over the Paisley side today would send Rangers 13 points clear of Celtic in the championship race, albeit possibly for only a day, but the manager insists nothing can yet be taken for granted.

"Our next two games, against St Mirren and Kilmarnock, are every bit as important as any we will play," said Smith. "It's okay to say you've had a win in an Old Firm game, but I'm always a great believer that the games before and after an Old Firm match are vital for you, too.

"We have to be careful and ensure we keep the same attitude we have had recently. We can't let that drop in any way. Sometimes the international break can make you take your eye off the ball a little bit, so to speak. I'd hope we would avoid that.

"But I think the biggest danger we have at the moment is going with everyone else's perception after winning the Old Firm game.

"We have to make sure we focus totally on what we are doing and our boys have been great at that over the season. So it's just a matter of making sure we keep that going."

St Mirren manager Gus MacPherson will have no problem motivating his players for this afternoon's encounter. They may still be looking for their first win of the season against the Light Blues, but MacPherson remains confident.

"When you come up against Rangers and Celtic it's brilliant," he said. "That's why we have worked so hard to get in to the SPL.

"Players have done reasonably well against Rangers in recent games and hopefully we have learned from them."

With what will be the two sides' sixth meeting of the season looming at the end of the month – in the final of the Co-operative Insurance Cup at Hampden – MacPherson added: "The one thing I can guarantee is that Rangers respect us and it doesn't matter if it is tomorrow or in the cup final, we will be competitive."

• Were the SFA correct to reject Celtic's appeal over Scott Brown's red card?