FRASER AIRD is walking willingly towards a potential storm.
Should Rangers fall to Kilmarnock in tomorrow's William Hill Scottish Cup tie, it will serve only to crank up the pressure building around manager Ally McCoist and his players. If the old adage of "at Rangers and Celtic you're only three games away from a crisis" is upheld then, on the back of a home draw with Alloa Athletic and last weekend's 2-0 defeat by Hearts, failing to beat Kilmarnock could be considered a third strike.
Aird doesn't expect that to be the case but is willing to devote himself to the cause, regardless. The forward, who could miss three weeks of the season in January on international duty with Canada, is fit again after missing the past month with a thigh injury, and ready to return to the starting line-up tomorrow if selected by McCoist.
"I played the full 90 minutes against Dundee United's under-20s during the week," said the 19-year-old. "That was my first game for five weeks and now I'm looking forward to being in the squad for the game at the weekend.
"Obviously, it's been frustrating. Injuries are the worst thing in football but I've worked hard to get back and now I want to try and help the boys out. I had a good run of games before my injury set me back but now I want to cement my place in the team."
Aird offered an insight into the Rangers dressing room following last weekend's loss at Tynecastle and revealed it was a far healthier scene than many might have imagined. "We haven't had a squad meeting or anything," he added. "The boys know that we need to do better after two bad results. That's what happens in football and we won't have a better chance to put things right than on Sunday, when we have another big game against Premiership opposition.
"Hopefully, we can put on a good performance and get the result we need. There's no sense of backs being against the wall; everyone just wants to get out there and prove themselves against a Premiership team. When you've had a bad result then you can't wait for the next game so we're all looking forward to facing Kilmarnock. We've beaten two Premiership clubs already this season [Inverness Caledonian Thistle and St Johnstone in the League Cup] and we're looking to make that three.
"I wouldn't say that Kilmarnock will be intimidated because they'll have been used to playing Rangers at Ibrox but I think that, in a sense, everyone has a wee bit of fear when they come to play us at home. Kilmarnock were doing well at the start of the season but they haven't been at their best recently. But they're a good side and they'll feel - just as we do - that they have a chance of winning. It should be a good game."
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