Miller withdraws from Scotland squad

November 17, 2008

KENNY MILLER has been forced to withdraw from Scotland’s glamour friendly with Argentina on Wednesday night and is a major doubut for next weekend’s Ibrox clash with Aberdeen. 

The Rangers star limped into Murray Park this morning with a calf injury which got progessively worse over the weekend.

He was immediately withdrawn from the Scotland squad and now the Rangers medical team will work to try to get Miller fit for the Dons game.

Miller was instrumental in Saturday’s 2-1 win over St Mirren setting up both goal for Kris Boyd and Steve Davis.

However, he took a kick on the calf in that game and the swelling increased overnight and again yesterday.

Madjid Bougherra is also unlikely to play for Algeria on Wednesday. He has travelled, along with Brahim Hemdani, for the African Nations Cup qualifier against Mali but his calf injury should mean that he does not play.

Rangers boss Walter Smith, however, is hopeful that the powerful centre back will be fit to return to the side for the Aberdeen game on Saturday.

Neither DaMarcus Beasley nor Mo Edu have been selected by the United States for their largely meaningless World Cup qualifier with Guatemala which is good news for Smith.

Equally, Pedro Mendes has not been selected for Portugal’s glamour friendly in Brazil which means he will be fresh for this weekend.

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Sasa signs till 2011

November 11, 2008

 

ASA PAPAC has signed a new deal with Rangers which extends his contract to 2011 and he has a set a target of winning the title this season.

The Bosnian defender completed talks with Rangers Chief Executive Martin Bain this afternoon and is thrilled to commit himself to the club.

Papac is the last man standing from the Paul Le Guen era having been signed by the Frenchman from Austria Vienna in the summer of 2006.

He has become a mainstay in Walter Smith’s side having taken up the mantle to fill the left back slot and has scarcely missed a match in the past 18 months.

And having won the CIS Cup and the Scottish Cup last season and played his part in the amazing run to the UEFA Cup Final, Papac wants the Scottish title.

He told rangers.co.uk: “I am so happy to sign a new deal with Rangers. To spend five years with a club like Rangers is something special and I aim to give all I can in the next three years.

“My dream now is to win the championship. We had success last season with the two cups and then we got to the UEFA Cup Final which was fantastic.

“However, the main target is the SPL title and I would love to win that this season.

“I believe we have the players to achieve this dream but we know we will have a battle on our hands.”

Boss Walter Smith has been pleased with way Papac has taken his game on this season by offering more in an attacking sense on the left hand side and he reguarly links well with the front players.

He finally scored his first goal for Rangers in last week’s 3-3 draw with Dundee United on what was his 81st appearance for the club.

Papac said: “It was a great moment to score my first goal for Rangers and hopefully there are many more to come.

“I scored a few times for Austria Vienna so I know that I can be a scorer for Rangers. I have been encouraged to get forward more and link with the front players and I have managed to do that.

“I have to keep working hard and I will do that. I want to be successful at this great club.”

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Agony For Thomson

November 10, 2008

KEVIN THOMSON is today facing up to the reality that his season could be over after hospital scans revealed major damage to his left knee. 

The 24-year-old will now see one of Europe’s top specialists in London on Wednesday but medical staff at Murray Park already fear the midfielder may be out of action for up to eight months.

Thomson season has been wrecked after he tussled for the ball with David Fernandez at Kilmarnock yesterday.

He was in major distress as he lay on the Rugby Park turf and had to carried off by stretcher following the incident eight minutes from the end of the 4-0 win.

Club doctor Paul Jackson accompanied the stricken player to hospital this morning where tests were carried out.

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Le Darche keen on Marseille move

November 7, 2008

Rangers striker Jean-Claude Darcheville has declared that he wants to move back to his native France after 

reported interest from Marseille.

It would seem Rangers would not stand in Darcheville’s way as the arrival of strikers Kenny Miller, KyleLafferty, Andrius Velicka and the return to form of Kris Boyd have sent the Frenchman down the Ibrox pecking order.

Darcheville told the French press: “There is no doubt Marseille will always be a legendary club. I’m not sure I could refuse that kind of offer.”

Rangers boss Walter Smith is rumoured to be looking to trim his squad in the January transfer window and as the 33-year-old signed a new two-year deal in June last year Smith will look to receive a cash deal for the player.

Darchville, who joined the club at the beginning of last season, became an instant hit with the fans and played an important part in helping Rangers to the UEFA Cup final.

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Mad’ for it

November 7, 2008

 

MADJID BOUGHERRA insists he is loving life at Rangers despite rumours linking him with a move to Marseille.

The Algerian defender has been superb alongside David Weir this season and has laughed at suggestions he is set to leave having only moved to Glasgow from Charlton Athletic in July.

“I only signed just signed for Rangers a few months ago and it’s a very big club,” said the bemused 26-year-old.

“We have a nice training ground, nice fans and everything is perfect for me.

“I am very happy and have come here to win the title and play in the Champions League.

“This is my first dream along with playing in the World Cup.

“When you play at Ibrox it’s fantastic and there is a great atmosphere in the squad.”

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Thomson to fight for place

November 5, 2008

 

Kevin Thomson believes the return of skipper Barry Ferguson has every Rangers midfielder looking over his shoulder.

Ferguson has recovered from five months out following ankle surgery and is set to return to the starting line-up after making two substitute appearances.

Summer signings Steve Davis and Pedro Mendes have settled in well in Ferguson’s absence while Thomson has also contributed, scoring the last-gasp leveller in Tuesday’s 3-3 draw with Dundee United.

But they must fight it out for a starting berth now that Ferguson has returned to full fitness.

“It’s a big club and there is always competition for places,” he said.

“It’s been well-documented that the skipper is back now and he is pushing for a game.

On their toes

“It’s not just myself, it’s up to every player to stay on their toes and to work hard and stay in the team.”

Thomson’s equaliser against Dundee United ensured Rangers stretched their unbeaten home run in the SPL to 13 months, although the 3-3 draw was not enough for the Gers to go level with Celtic at the top of the table.

“We have a great record here and we would like to keep that going,” said Thomson.

“If we are going to win the title, we have to win our home games so it certainly feels like two points dropped.

 

Dropped points

“It was the same when I was at Hibs, every team who comes up against the Old Firm wants to do their best.

“It’s always a cup final, especially at Ibrox in front of 50,000. If you don’t want to come here and perform, then you shouldn’t be playing football.

“They came and had a go and it’s up to us to up our game and make sure that we beat these teams.”

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Ferguson could be back for Caley

October 27, 2008

 

Rangers boss Walter Smith has pencilled in Barry Ferguson for a return to the first-team for the weekend clash with Inverness.

Ferguson has been out of action since the summer after undergoing surgery on his troublesome ankle problem.

The Gers skipper came through a reserve team outing last week unscathed and he is set for another run-out for the second string this week against Dundee United.

Smith has revealed Ferguson will be in his plans to face Inverness at Ibrox next weekend, if he comes through the reserve clash without any ill-effects.

“Barry will get another game on Wednesday and I’m hopeful that if he gets through that match without any problems, he’ll come back in at the weekend,” Smith told club’s official website.

“I don’t mean that it terms of his injury because that’s okay now. If the after-effects of playing in midweek aren’t too severe, we would look at him coming in on Saturday.

Anxious

“It is natural people are anxious now to get him back. I’ll involve Barry in the pool of players for the Hamilton game but that game might be a bit early for him.

“He will play against United’s reserves and after that, I’d hope he’ll become more gradually involved with the full side.

“Barry played at St Mirren and did all of his training last week then had a recovery day yesterday so we’ll see how he is at training today.

“He is itching to get back playing again but he has an awareness of his injury now, as we do. When he makes his comeback, he’ll be ready for it.”

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Edu ready to start

October 27, 2008

 

MO EDU says he is ready to make his mark at Rangers after taking time to adapt to the Scottish game.

The American midfielder is in line to play against Hamilton in the League Cup tomorrow night and could replace Kevin Thomson as he is struggling with an ankle knock.

More than two months have passed since Edu signed for the club on the five-year deal from MLS outfit Toronto FC.

So far he has made just one 65-minute appearance against Kilmarnock and he has been a more regular feature of Tommy Wilson’s reserve team.

But having finally got to grips with the game in this country, the 22-year-old feels capable of stepping back into the first XI again and making a positive impact.

Edu said: “I hope I can play against Hamilton. Every week I prepare myself for the event that my name is called and it has been no different this week.

“I’m just working hard in training. Every footballer wants to play but I knew I was joining a winning team when I came here.

“There’s a lot of talent in there already and with the summer signings that were made, that has increased further.

“I knew it would be difficult to get on the field so I have been training hard and I’ve stayed patient.

“The SPL is definitely a step up from the MLS and it’s a hard, physical game. I’ve done well as I’ve adjusted so far and I’m more comfortable than I was when I got here at first.

“I knew it would take time to adapt. Any time you increase the standard, there’s a little period where you try to change and settle in.

“I think I’ve had a chance to be here for a while now, train with the guys, see a few games and play in one and I’ve been getting positive feedback from the staff.

“I feel a part of things now and as time goes on, I’ll hopefully get some more matches under my belt and I’ll continue to develop.”

Rangers will come up against Hamilton for the second time in four days in the quarter-finals of the Co-operative Insurance Cup following their SPL meeting on Saturday.

Walter Smith’s men won that one 3-1 but Edu knows that means nothing ahead of their re-match at Ibrox.

He added: “I think it’ll be difficult and playing any team twice within the space of a few days is hard.

“After playing them at their place, they’ll have a bit of a chip on their shoulder when they come to play at our home.

“Any team that comes here wants to do well because it’s a great club to play at and it’s a huge event for them.

“Hamilton will come here really motivated and it’s difficult to beat the same team twice in a row so we’ll have our work cut out.”

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Miller and Thomson set for return

October 22, 2008

Rangers manager Walter Smith expects to have Kenny Miller and Kevin Thomson to be fit for the SPL trip to Hamilton.  

Striker Miller and midfielder Thomson withdrew injured from the Scotland squad for the recent World Cup qualifier with Norway.

Miller needed an injection on a niggly hamstring strain while Thomson suffered an ankle injury against St Mirren

“I think Kevin and Kenny will be fine for Saturday,” Smith told the club’s official website.

“Kevin has an ankle injury which was a bit swollen and it took a bit to settle. He only trained towards the end of last week, but the extra time will mean he is fully fit for Hamilton.

“Kenny had the injection in his hamstring and that required a period where he couldn’t train, but he came back last week and there has been no problem with it.”

The weekend trip to New Douglas Park comes too soon for captain Barry Ferguson, who played his first match for five months in a reserve game against St Mirren.

Striker Kyle Lafferty, who has also been struggling with injury, could force his way into a starting place against Hamilton after impressing his manager on international duty with Northern Ireland.

It was good to see Kyle and Steve (Davis) doing well for Northern Ireland last week and them getting a goal each,” said Smith.

“Kyle needed the games because he has not featured for us as much as we would have liked.”

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Kenny wants to win

September 30, 2008

KENNY MILLER doesn’t care where he scores for Rangers or how many goals he gets - all he wants is for the team to keep winning. 

The Scotland striker netted twice at Easter Road on Sunday to set the Light Blues on their way to a 3-0 victory over his old side Hibernian.

Miller’s double brought his tally to four goals since he returned to Ibrox, with the remaining pair coming against his other former club Celtic in August.

Each of the 28-year-old’s efforts have come on the road and he now has his sights set on grabbing the first Ibrox strike of his second spell with Gers.

But he admits he would quite happily go through a whole season without a home goal if it meant the team stayed on right track.

Miller said: “The boys have been saying they are just going to play me against my old teams from now on because I keep scoring when we go to play them.

“All joking aside, I went into the weekend feeling good because I’d had a few chances last week against Motherwell and played well without scoring.

“At Hibs I was able to get on the end of Kirk Broadfoot’s cross then his lay off and I was delighted to finish them both off.

“If I’m honest though, I don’t care where the goals come and I’d take 50 away from home instead if it helps the team to do well.

“I just want to stay in the team because we’ve got a lot of good players and the manager has used a few different partnerships so far.

“It’s my aim to do enough to stay involved and I’ll happily take goals if they come along as well.”

Miller was thrilled with the result three days ago for a number of reasons, not least because of the manner in which Gers won.

Celtic had gone top of the SPL the previous afternoon with a win against Aberdeen but Walter Smith’s men overtook them again with a ruthless showing in Edinburgh.

Miller added: “I suppose there is always a wee bit of pressure on you when your rivals go above you in the table the day before you play.

“But getting three points was the most important thing on Sunday and for us to go to Easter Road and win so well was great.

“It’s a tough place to play at and Hibs produce some cracking football so it was pleasing to do a good job.

“You could see how good we are in the first half. We passed the ball about well and created some really good chances.

“We did the hard work before the break and managed to go two goals up through some really good play.

“After half-time we had to weather the storm because we knew Hibs would come back at us and we were able to do that.

“Neil (Alexander) made a couple of good saves and that gave us a platform to go on and settle the game through Madjid (Bougherra) when he scored.

“I’m over the moon with the way things are going and barring a controversial decision, we’d be sitting with maximum points from seven games.

“We were happy to go to Easter Road and win to go right back to the top of the league again. It shows the character and mentality we have in our side.”

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