Rangers v Celtic at Ibrox holds no fear for Declan John

Declan John made an earlier than anticipated debut for Rangers when he was introduced at Partick. Picture: SNS.

The 22-year-old Welshman is on standby for the left-back slot for Rangers against Celtic after the Ibrox club’s captain Lee Wallace limped out of last Friday night’s 2-2 draw against Partick Thistle at Firhill.

Facing Celtic at Ibrox proved to be no place for a rookie in the fixture at the end of last season when Maltese teenager Myles Beerman, deputising for the injured Wallace on that occasion, suffered a torrid afternoon against winger Patrick Roberts as the Scottish champions romped to a record 5-1 win in Govan.

But, while John is aware of Roberts’ reputation, he believes his own experience of playing in the English Premier League as a youngster for Cardiff City has prepared him for the challenge.

“I have seen him [Roberts] play before and he did quite well last season,” said John. “We will just have to wait and see on Saturday.

“At the end of the day, when you are playing in the Premier League at 17, 18 years of age, you are coming up against all these good players. It did take some time getting used to but I have come up against good players in my time. I am not really going to fear anyone that I play against.”

John, on a season-long loan from Cardiff City, made an earlier than anticipated debut for Rangers when he replaced Wallace after just 12 minutes on Friday.

“I didn’t expect to get a call so early on,” he added. “I was really happy to get on and I thought I did quite well.

“When you are coming off the bench that early in the game, it is still a bit mad and there are things going on. So to get chucked in early, it is hard to get used to the pace first of all. I thought I got there in the end and did pretty well.

“I thought the pace of the game was fast. Even the  training we do here, it is bang, bang, bang, it is very quick. The Scottish games I have seen on TV are quick as well. That suits me and with some of the football we did play on Friday, we could have got a winner.

“The boys had won the previous two games but we showed again that we can play good football. For me coming in, I like to play  that way.

“I want to play as many  minutes as I can. We will just have to wait and see if I play against Celtic. The only game that I have watched on TV is Rangers and Celtic. I haven’t got much other knowledge of the football up here.

“Cardiff and Swansea is the big derby in Wales but obviously the one here is massive, we all know that. I am looking to hopefully feature in it. They are the two biggest clubs up here and to be able to play in one of those games would be superb for me.”

Since he joined Rangers on the last day of the transfer window, John has been taken under the wing of the man he may have to replace this week.

“I have been here for two weeks now and Lee has put his arm around me, shown me around the place,” added John. “He is a good guy. He has been here for years and he has done so well in his career. He has been showing me some tips in training, which is always good from a player of that stature. I have been taking it all in.”

Before this weekend’s Old Firm fixture, Rangers have a quick return to Firhill tomorrow night in the Betfred Cup quarter-final.

Thistle were denied their first win over the Ibrox men since 1993 by Graham Dorrans’ equaliser on Friday but striker Miles Storey believes they can go one better in the cup tie.

“Rangers have improved this season but there are weaknesses there as well,” said Storey. “There’s no reason why the lads can’t take confidence from Friday and beat them on Tuesday. The team are only one game away from a Hampden semi-final and there’s no reason why we can’t win.”