Naismith and Thomson get the nod

[johnnyk 158]

WALTER SMITH is set to hand Kevin Thomson and Steven Naismith starting slots as Rangers kick-off their Champions League campaign here tomorrow night. The Gers manager is preparing to make some changes to the starting line-up and formation for the Group G encounter against Stuttgart in the Mercedes-Benz Arena.

And it means both Thomson and Naismith - who were on the bench at the weekend as the Ibrox side drew 0-0 with Motherwell at Fir Park - will come straight into the starting line-up.

 

Rangers arranged a closed door match with Morton at Murray Park yesterday to give Thomson some game time ahead of tomorrow's showdown with the Germans, after three weeks without a top team appearance.

 

The midfielder was sent-off in his one and only league start this term away to Hearts, and was suspended for the home game with Hamilton Accies.

He then had a free weekend when Scotland faced Macedonia and was unused at Motherwell on Saturday.

 

But he played against Morton in a 3-1 victory and was joined by Nacho Novo - who netted a hat-trick - and John Fleck. Now Thommo is now in line to slot straight into the middle of the park.

 

A Rangers insider revealed: "He didn't play the full 90 minutes but he managed to come through it without any problems."

 

Smith will revert to his tried and tested 4-5-1 formation which he prefers to go with in European fixtures away from home.

 

It means new signing Jerome Rothen is likely to drop back to the bench to allow Naismith to operate wide on the left with a view to getting as close to Kenny Miller as possible when Rangers are attacking.

 

Kris Boyd is the second player that should find himself out of the starting line-up as Thomson is thrown into a three-man central midfield alongside Lee McCulloch and Pedro Mendes.

And McCulloch could be handed a key role as the player designated to man-mark Stuttgart playmaker Alexander Hleb, providing the Belarussian midfielder recovers from a knock that threatens to keep him out of the showdown.

 

Gers boss Smith said: "When you are operating in the Champions League you expect every game to be a difficult one. Stuttgart are a top side who have performed consistently well in the Bundesliga for quite some time.

"But you want to be playing in the Champions League and everyone connected with Rangers is looking forward to this campaign immensely."

[fraser54 0]

Think Naismith showed last week against Holland that he can cause problems against big teams, he is very good in the air and takes players on.

He can be a key player for us tomorrow night to win corners, free kicks and getting balls into the box !

[Cotter 0]

Good news, I think he's gonna have a huge season for us.

 

Still see no reason to play big Lee at all, ever. Move Davis in one and put Fleck or Novo wide right.

[Zappa 0]

Still see no reason to play big Lee at all, ever. Move Davis in one and put Fleck or Novo wide right.

Naismith is a good shout on the right as well cotter. If he goes with Rothen on the left I'd like to see either Naismith or Novo on the right (or both - one coming off the bench).