Nicolas Raskin already has the Rangers haters figured out - 'not so many teams love us'

Nicolas Raskin says he likes to play in away games where the vitriol seeps out of every corner and there is every chance he will be indulged on that front this weekend.

Rangers' Nicolas Raskin challenges St Mirren's Ryan Strain during his side's 5-2 win at Ibrox. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)

Rangers travel to play Aberdeen at Pittodrie in their final league match before the split, a fixture that could be diplomatically described as “passionate” but often errs more towards poisonous, rancorous and spite-filled.

Raskin has only been in Scotland for three months but has already shrewdly figured out that Rangers aren’t welcomed with red carpets and rose petals every time they pitch up for an away game.

The midfielder seems to like that notion, having experienced similar feelings of animosity during his time in Belgium as a Standard Liege player. The louder the Aberdeen fans jeer and whistle, the more Raskin says he will thrive in it.

“I had heard that they don’t like us,” he reveals. “But all the teams that play Rangers try to give their best and they try to beat us. I have the feeling there are not so many teams that love us. But we are a team that likes to play against adversity like we did last week also [against Celtic]. It was the same in Belgium, the team liked to play against adversity.

“For me personally it’s always good to play away where the fans don’t like you because you show that you are better and that gives them a bad feeling. For me, I like that. It motivates me a lot. We are not worried about that.”

Raskin has quickly found favour with the Rangers fans for his all-action performances, even if his manager Michael Beale worries that the midfielder can often run out of steam.

“I think [I am getting better by the game],” adds the 22 year-old. “I am getting more comfortable. The little break I had because of injury stopped me a bit in terms of building my fitness. But I am working on it.

“I am just trying to enjoy every game and trying to play as well as I can with the other boys and create good connections. I think you can see we are happy to play together. I’m enjoying it a lot.

“I got injured and I had to stop. And I’m the kind of player who needs games in my legs to be fully me. I think I can improve this with time and training. But I am feeling good and feeling better and better. As time goes on I will be okay.”

Sunday’s trip to Pittodrie is the final warm-up act before Rangers lock horns with Celtic once more in the Scottish Cup semi-final. Raskin is still frustrated at how the recent league derby panned out and knows his team must be ready for the rematch.

“We need to get as much confidence as we can [against Aberdeen] then we will be getting ready for the semi final. That’s one of our big goals.

“No one likes to lose like we did last week. I felt we were good in the game. We scored two goals and we could have scored more. But, yes, it’s always painful to lose. Now we are looking forward and taking it game by game. We know we still have things to do this season.”