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Skill To Win v Will To Win

ian1964 posted a topic in Rangers Chat

THEY have ability and technique you can't take your eyes off. But Valencia midfielder Manuel Fernandes has been well warned those qualities won't be enough against Rangers at Ibrox. Fernandes, 24, became close pals with former Gers star Mikel Arteta during his loan spell with Everton. It was there he was told all about the SPL champions. And Fernandes is in little doubt how tough the La Liga side will get it in Glasgow when they take on Walter Smith's Gers on Wednesday night. Fernandes said: "We may be technically superior to Rangers, but it is not enough. "I know a lot of teams who don't always win, despite being technically better. "For me Barcelona are the best team in the world, but they have already dropped five points at home this season. "When we go to Glasgow it's about showing the right mentality. "I know this will be a hugely difficult game for us because Rangers are really starring at home just now. "They play a type of football which is difficult to cope with. "They have strong players, are good in the air and are very direct. "We need to make sure we are ready for that when we go to Glasgow. "I used to speak a lot with Arteta when we were together at Everton. He always spoke well of Rangers because he loved the club and the whole environment. "Given what he has told me, I'm presuming we are going to be in for a tough game. "Rangers are a team who play for each other and give everything on the pitch. "The defence help them out a lot, so it will be up to us to try and break them down." Gers showed in their clash with Manchester United at Old Trafford that they can be defensively sound when they want to be. Manager Smith parked the bus and there was nothing Wayne Rooney and Co could do about it. Fernandes has nothing but respect for the job Gers did to get their Champions League campaign off to a flier. But he expects a different approach from the Ibrox men on Wednesday. He added: "I think this will be a different game from Old Trafford. "Every team who goes to Manchester doesn't go there with an offensive plan. "You need to be strong at the back and earn the respect of United. "Rangers did that, but at home it will be different for them. "They need to play the game to win in front of their own supporters. "I'm hoping their style suits us, but if we want to take something we need to match them." Valencia lost 2-1 to Barca on Saturday night, but they took the lead in the Nou Camp and proved they are genuine title contenders. Ibrox spy Ian Durrant was at the match and must have sat watching through the cracks in his fingers. Valencia took the lead through Pablo Hernandez and completely bossed the first half. Barca were lucky to reach the dressing room at half-time just 1-0 down. Argentine superstar Lionel Messi hardly got a kick as they toiled. But after the break the La Liga champions came out fighting and they turned the game on its head. First Andres Iniesta, fresh from his midweek heroics against Scotland, levelled and then Carles Puyol headed the winner. Valencia put so much effort into the first half they didn't have the legs to claw their way back. But there was still more than enough on view to worry Rangers. They are a brilliant counter-attacking team. Valencia also stood tall in the intimidating atmosphere of 90,000 Catalans in the Nou Camp. Fernandes added: "I am happy, but not 100 per cent because we didn't win. "I just hope that we can keep this run of good form going and keep improving when we face Rangers. "I don't think that the atmosphere will be a problem for us in Glasgow. It won't bother us because all we will be concerned about is what happens on the pitch." Hitman Aritz Aduriz insists Valencia will go all out to get a priceless win at Ibrox. After losing at home to Manchester United the pressure is on the Spaniards. Aduriz said: "We need to win in Glasgow, so we will be doing everything to score. "Losing to Manchester United was a disappointing result for us. They are the favourites in the group, but they did not deserve to win that night. "With the way things are, we are now fighting for second place in the group with Rangers. That makes this match decisive. "If we lose it would be a huge blow to our chances of going through to the next stage. That's why our mission is to win on Wednesday. "Rangers change their style of play when they play in European matches. "They play on the counter-attack and that is something we will need to be wary of. "It will be similar to the way Scotland played against Spain at Hampden. "We got all three points that night, but it was a tough game. I expect the same again at Ibrox, but we believe we can go there and win." Read more: http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/3184484/Skill-to-win-versus-will-to-win.html#ixzz12hGabNNl

October 18, 2010
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Here We Go

ian1964 posted a topic in Rangers Chat

GARY HOOPER insists Celtic are the best team in the SPL - and they're ready to prove it by dumping Rangers. The hitman's double, including a 90th-minute strike, downed Dundee United yesterday. Victory pulled Celts level with leaders Gers on 24 points, and they are only second in the table because their goal difference is one less. Both Old Firm sides will put their perfect records on the line when they go head-to-head on Sunday. And Hooper, 22, said: "I feel we do have the best squad but I haven't seen all the teams yet. We're probably the best in the league in my opinion though. "We have a good team with all different nationalities bonding together and that showed out there against United. "Both ourselves and Rangers are now eight unbeaten and that makes it a big week. We have a great team spirit and we showed it out there. "We just kept attacking. We kept going and got the winner in the end. The fans played their part and I'm now looking forward to the Old Firm game. "If the whole team plays like we did here we'll have a great chance of making it nine games unbeaten." Hooper also has Kenny Miller in his sights. The Gers striker has scored 11 goals in club competitions this season after hitting the net against Motherwell on Saturday. Hooper now has five after almost six weeks out with a calf injury. He said: "The gaffer has brought me in to score goals. I'm proving that just now. "That is three in the league in two games now. I will just take it from there. My best tally in the Championship was 19. "The target for me is to beat Miller and to keep scoring. I'm near enough 100 per cent fit. Maybe a couple more games and I'll be there." Hooper was the one who hit the deck when ref Dougie McDonald pointed to the spot in the 70th minute yesterday. He'd been barged out the way moments earlier by Garry Kenneth but after play raged on he was felled after Dusan Pernis dived at his feet in the box. McDonald later changed his mind after talks with his linesman Steven Craven and restarted play with a bounce ball. Pernis did get a touch on the ball but Hooper reckons he was fouled on both occasions. He said: "It was a penalty. He got me first and then the ball. The linesman has only seen him get the ball and it was a bad decision. "There were two penalties as far as I was concerned. If I'd gone down with the first one it would have been a penalty and the second one was a penalty too. "It doesn't matter now because we have the three points and we can look forward to the Rangers game. The penalty decision certainly fired us up to go for the winner." Hooper had given Celts the lead after just 13 minutes after Anthony Stokes sent Mark Wilson scampering down the right. Wilson's cross put it on a plate for the Englishman to crash home high into the net. The Ã?Â£2million ex-Scunthorpe star had other half-chances but after David Goodwillie's deflected strike had brought things level, he smashed home at the death. Hooper said: "It was a good performance. We showed good spirit and created a good few chances. I took two of them and the most important thing was we took the three points. "I wasn't surprised how tough United were because I've watched a couple of DVDs from last year. "They're a good solid team but we got the early goal and made it count before we got our late winner." Hoops boss Neil Lennon had made Shaun Maloney skipper in the absence of the injured Scott Brown. But the winner didn't arrive until Maloney was replaced by Paddy McCourt, who pulled on the armband then put in the initial ball that caused the confusion in the box for the goal. Lennon said: "Shaun has come through the academy and has shown great maturity this season. He's a player the fans can identify with. "He's a great role model not just for the fans but for the players as well. He's got a fight to get the armband off Paddy though as I think he is wearing it home! "We'd been toying with the idea of putting Paddy on but we were playing so well we didn't know who to take off. "But when it got so late in the game we felt we'd throw him on to see if he could create something. "Paddy makes an impact but the game should have been out of sight. The build-up play was breathtaking at times as well as the pace with which we attacked. "I always felt we may get something but their keeper was making great saves. We should have been two or three up at half-time but when we went in I was quite calm. "We had so much of the game and they scored with a deflection. For 30 minutes in the second half it was sheer quality. "Wave after wave of attack - and the fans have connected with the team and the team has connected with the fans. They had the whole place rocking. "It's important to keep the winning run going and it's important we get performances like that. "We went to watch Rangers on Saturday and they were impressive in the second half. "Something has to give next week. It's a challenge but we'll celebrate this result first." Read more: http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/3184402/Now-well-see-whos-tops-Gers.html#ixzz12h53eaqX