ian1964

ANDREW LITTLE will get another chance to impress national coach Nigel Worthington again tonight when Northern Ireland face Scotland at Broadwood in a 'B' international. It's yet another big night for the level headed youngster who has seen his career take a giant leap forward in the past two months. Andrew LittleThe 19 year-old was a regular for Tommy Wilson's Reserves when he when he made his international debut on March 28, going on as a late substitute for David Healy in the country's World Cup qualifying win over Poland at Windsor Park. It was a proud moment for the Enniskillen-born player who had, at that point, yet to make a first-team appearance at club level. This all changed on April 25 when he capped an unforgettable period of his life by replacing Kris Boyd with nine minutes remaining of the 3-0 Scottish Cup semi-final win over St. Mirren at Hampden. Little admits that he had to pinch himself after recent events but he now has his sights set fulfilling his undoubted potential, starting tonight in Cumbernauld against his Gers teammates Andy Webster and Steven Naismith. He said: "Hopefully I will play in the game against Scotland and then in June there will be a senior Northern Ireland squad announced, I would like to be in that also. "But the last couple of months have been crazy; if you had told me six weeks ago that I had made my full Northern Ireland and Rangers debuts I would have thought you were drunk. Andrew Little replaces Kris Boyd in the League Cup semi-final 2009 "To do both recently was brilliant and I am very proud to have been given that chance. "The night before the Scottish Cup semi-final I was on the phone to my mum and she was all for coming over when she found out I was on the bench. "I told her she shouldn't make the trip because it would be sods law that she would travel and I would not play. "So all my family were watching the game at home and it was a very special moment for them to see me making my Rangers debut at Hampden. "When Danny (Wilson) and I were warming up we both knew there was a chance one of us might go on. "I was constantly looking over at the bench to see if my name would be called and Danny was the same. Andrew Little"Being a forward I thought that might give me a slightly better chance and the fact Boydy had already scored his 100th goal also helped my cause a bit. "But it was a great to get a game and the fact the game was sitting at 3-0 meant there was not any pressure on me." Replacing Boyd was a dream scenario for Andrew who admits that training with the club's prolific striker on a regular basis has been hugely beneficial to his development. He said: "There is no better player in the business when it comes to finishing than Boydy. "It's frightening to think that he is the fastest Rangers player to hit 100 goals for 50 years. "Learning from him is brilliant and every day in training you see how he does it although a lot of what he does is natural. We also have Ally and he did pretty well also! "As a striker you can only learn from people like Kris and to replace him in the final was pretty special. "There was obviously a massive cheer when he came off and I kind of hoped it was for me going on! "But Kris is someone I look up to a lot and to make my debut coming on for him made it all the more special."

RICHARD GOUGH insists the destination of the SPL title will not be decided if there is a winner in Saturday's crucial Old Firm derby. He knows that if there is an outright winner it will give them a massive boost in their pursuit of the crown. A win for Rangers would give them a two point lead with three games to while a Celtic victory would take them four clear. However, former Ibrox skipper Gough knows from his own experience that strange things can happen. Gough, back in Scotland to promote Setanta's coverage of Saturday's match along with former Celt Derek Whyte, was trying to lead Rangers to 10 in a row in 1998 when he was stopped in his tracks. And four years ago Celtic won the final Old Firm derby of the season and looked odds on but lost two of their final four matches, famously crashing at Fir Park on the final day which allowed Rangers to win the flag. Goigh said: "If one team wins the game it will put them in a very strong position but that is not to say the League would be done and dusted. "Looking back I remember the 1997/98 season when with about four games to go we beat Celtic and Jonas Thern scored a great goal and we thought we were on our way, "But we lost at home to Kilmarnock and dropped other points and it didn't happen for us. "So it doesn't necessarily mean it's wrapped up if either team wins on Saturday but they would put themselves in a great position."

Rangers 2 - Boyd, Davis MOPES 0 Fook me I'm excited already.....it's going to be a long wait for Saturday

Rangers v Falkirk Saturday 30 May. Hampden Park, kick-off 3pm Rangers has been allocated 24,890 tickets for the Homecoming Scottish Cup Final. Season ticket holders who have signed up to the continuous credit card payment scheme for semi finals and finals will automatically receive a ticket for this match and payment will be taken from Tuesday 12 May. Season ticket holders on the scheme who selected family section will be allocated tickets in the family section. Remaining tickets will go on sale to season ticket holders only from Thursday 14 May from the sales channels listed below. Season ticket holders may purchase one ticket per season ticket up to a maximum of four season tickets per transaction, subject to availability. Please note that tickets are extremely limited and will be sold on a first come first served basis to season ticket holders only. In the event that Rangers is allocated additional tickets from the SFA, sales details for this additional allocation will be communicated via rangers.co.uk and where supplied and appropriate, by email. We would strongly recommend that season ticket holders arrange to have their tickets sent by Special Delivery or alternatively uplift their tickets from Rangers Ticket Centre. The deadline for season ticket holders who have not already arranged to receive tickets by Special Delivery but who would like to do so is Wednesday 20 May. Those season ticket holders wishing to uplift their tickets should also do so by this date. Please call 0871 702 1972 (option 4 then 9) to speak to one of our customer service advisors for further information on postal or uplift options. Tickets are priced at Ã?£28* for the West Stand and Ã?£35* for the North and South Stands. Family section tickets are priced at Ã?£24* for adults and Ã?£10* for kids (under 16’s) in the family section. SALES CHANNELS - rangers.co.uk*^ - Ticket hotline 0871 702 1972^ - Rangers Ticket Centre^ *Family section tickets cannot be purchased online and only one ticket can be purchased online per visit. Rangers number and surname required per ticket purchased.^Tickets are subject to availability and booking fees apply.

The good thing this time is that we have good options on the bench with the likes of Miller,Novo,Lafferty............

Aye, but it keeps the MOPE,CHIMPS happy, or they might go on a window breaking spree and bunjee jumping without the ropes

Alexander Whittaker Bougherra Weir Papac Davis Edu Mendes Smith Velicka Boyd SA, you pushed me into this selection, to be fair the team has been winning so don't tamper with it IMO

I'm still deliberating my team...............hopefully I'll get it posted before Saturday

The team I put forward is the team I think oor Watty will play,not the team I would want

Aye..........I'll sleep easy after that useless piece of information

I wonder what surprise oor Watty has up his sleeve for this game? Me thinks he will play: --------Alexander Whittaker-Bougherra-Weir-Papac ----Davis-Edu-Mendes-Lafferty --------Boyd-Miller

A second-half double from Steven Lennon and a further strike from John Fleck have given the Reserves a sensational 3-2 win over Inverness Caley Thistle in their final league game of the season. John FleckTommy Wilson's side looked dead and buried when Adam Rooney put the Highland Jags 2-0 up in the 49th minute. But three goals in the space of six minutes put the Light Blues back in front and they held on to their lead to secure all three points. With an average age of just 18 this afternoon's game was always going to be a big test for Rangers and they were to suffer a blow on 28 minutes when Rooney linked with teammate Garry Wood before curling the ball beyond Graeme Smith. The visitors fought back desperately in search of an equaliser before half-time but Ryan Esson was in inspired form between the Caley posts. Rooney then doubled his team's advantage after the break when he fired the ball home after Iain Vigurs had supplied a cross from the left. Steven Lennon, Rangers Despite their youth the Rangers players battled back brilliantly and they were given a glimmer of hope on 59 minutes when Steven Lennon pulled one back after scrambling home a rebound from a Jamie Ness header. Only 60 seconds and they received a further boost when Pavels Mihadjuks blocked a John Fleck free-kick with his hand and the referee immediately pointed to the spot. Lennon stepped up and the striker confidently sent the keeper the wrong way to put his team level. With Caley stunned John Fleck was to take full advantage by bagging what proved to be the winner in the 64th minute. Lennon, Archie Campbell and substitute Chris Craig linked well in midfield before releasing Fleck who curled a delightful shot around the helpless Esson. It was a great way for the club's second string to end the season and has given them hope of finishing second in the SPL table. ICT: Esson, Gathuessi, Mihadjuks, Finnis, Shinnie, Z. Sutherland (Leslie 70), Duncan, Morrison, Vigurs, Rooney, Wood (S. Sutherland) RANGERS: Smith, Durie, Scott, Perry, Wylde, Stirling (Craig 45), Ness, Fleck, Aaron, Campbell (Forbes 75), Lennon

Same as me mate

Agreed Craig, I am not saying he should play, I'm arguing against the pure hatred shown towards him, and this is the main reason some fans don't want him back in the team, for me he is still our best midfield player even though he has not reached his previous form, and then you get '' we've won 6 games without him '', can't argue with that, but for me one player doesn't win or loose you games, it's quite pathetic IMO

If you have the stomach to visit, http://kerrydalestreet.co.uk/topic/8111649/66/, you'll get the answer to the question of their reaction

Get your hard hat on and take cover................

I think he will, if Walter does split them up, it will be Velicka that gets dropped IMO, as he does even less than Boyd, in fact Boyd has assisted 3/4 of Velickas goals

Referee: Craig Thomson Assistants: Francis Andrews and Tom Murphy - v Celtic v Hibs Referee: Eddie Smith Assistants: Martin Cryans and Gary Cheyne

By Ronnie Cully and Thomas Jordan OLD FIRM sharpshooters Scott McDonald and Kris Boyd will walk a title suspension tightrope in this weekend's derby collision at Ibrox. Both hitmen are sitting on 15 disciplinary points and a yellow card would rule them out of the last day of the season fixtures on Sunday, May 24. Boyd has been under threat of a one-game ban since he was cautioned at St Mirren on April 8, but the 30-goal striker has so far managed to stay out of trouble. advertisement If, however, he is booked against Celtic then he would sit out Rangers trip to Dundee United on the last day. McDonald has accumulated points at a rapid rate in the past few weeks after referee Dougie McDonald cautioned him in the back-to-back games against Aberdeen at Parkhead on April 18 and again at Pittodrie last Saturday. Another booking on Saturday and the in-form Aussie would be missing when Hearts come to Parkhead on what could yet be a title-deciding day. Celtic skipper Stephen McManus - who is stuggling to recover in time to play at Ibrox after limping off with a knee injury at Pittodrie - is also on the 15-point mark and one booking away from a ban, but he is now unlikely to feature. Both managers were today beginning to piece together their teams ahead of what is a titanic encounter in terms of the destination of this season's title. Celtic are already without the suspended Scott Brown, but boss Gordon Strachan hopes to have Georgios Samaras and Barry Robson available to him. Rangers gaffer Walter Smith has been boosted by the news Sasa Papac is set to be fit after a knee problem. The Bosnian defender is likely to return at left-back, leaving Stevie Smith to add some bite and dig in a midfield roles in front of him. There is also a chance of Kirk Broadfoot making a surprise recovery from the foot problem that has side-lined for almost two months. Smith, who also welcomes centre-half Madjid Bougherra back from suspension after he sat out Sunday's 2-0 win over Hearts, said: "Sasa has a chance of being fit. "We thought he would be fit for the Hearts game, but just failed to make it so I imagine he'll be okay for the Old Firm game. "Kirk is also back in training this week, but whether he will be ready for the game or not we will have to wait and see. "It was also good to get Kyle Lafferty a run-out last weekend after five weeks out, so we have players coming back and that increases the options." http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/display.var.2506183.0.0.php

The bottom line is we NEED to sell players,Boyd,Bougherra,Davis,Ferguson ect are ALL up for sale,that's the hard facts and what we've already been told, so prepare to lose players

I was being sarcastic in agreeing with you :cheers:

Thomson interview : http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/scotland/8032643.stm

Bring the ball down,beat three players, and then score 30 goals

I actually thought he would have played against the Hertz,after all the reports coming from Ibrox about how well he has been playing,looking stronger,ect

Rangers midfielder Steven Davis is interesting Sunderland. The Daily Mail says Sunderland are weighing up whether to make a �£2.5 million offer for the Northern Ireland international.