STEVE Clarke’s head hit the desk as another question he didn’t fancy was put to him.
“Can we not just talk about the game?” the Kilmarnock manager asked. No, Steve, we can’t. This is Scotland. Any shenanigans off the field is way more important.
Of course, Clarke has a point. What happened on Sunday, with the Celtic fans throwing coins and running on the pitch, was germane but more so, in his mind, was a Scottish Cup replay with Rangers at Ibrox tonight.
And we will get to that. Honest.
“Everyone keeps going on about the mindless minority but surely the mindful majority should police it better,” said Clarke
“They want to go to the games and they don’t want to see their club’s name being dragged through the gutter.
“The sensible supporters who like to watch their team then go home to their wives and families and lead normal lives, these people have a responsibility to point out the idiots who go to cause disruption.
“There’s nothing wrong with going to a stadium where the atmosphere is hostile, as long as it’s restrained hostility; at the end of the day, it’s a sporting contest. I’ve got no issue going into a stadium where people are booing and shouting at you but when they start throwing things, that’s going too far.”
Right, let’s get back to what should be a superb cup tie.
It’s a 50/50 game. Kilmarnock are right to feel good about themselves, with the manager certainly believing is team can reach the quarter-finals.
“I think we can go there, relish the atmosphere and rise to the occasion,” said Clarke.
“You have to thrive on that and take it on board. When Celtic scored in the last minute on Sunday they celebrated the way they did because they knew it was a big result to come to Rugby Park and beat us.
“Similarly, we’re going to Ibrox on Wednesday night and Rangers will respect us and so will their fans. That doesn’t mean they won’t give us a hard time because they will but I want my players to go there and enjoy it.”
Kilmarnock have lost only twice to Rangers in eight games, winning the last league game, which is why this one is so hard to call.
“We don’t go anywhere with fear,” said Clarke. “We go everywhere with respect for the opposition.
“We go there determined to put on a good show and we’ll try to make it a great occasion for our supporters, for the ones who go to the stadium and the ones who don’t.
“So they wake up on Thursday morning and feel good about themselves.”
Rory McKenzie has been a Kilmarnock player at a time when going to Ibrox, or Celtic going to Ayrshire, was a somewhat different experience.
In fact, the winger doesn’t have to go back too long to recall a time when his team were nothing more than relegation candidates and nothing more.
“It used to be that Celtic would come down here and their fringe players would play, maybe even five or six of them,” said the 25-year-old.
“The team they put out on Sunday was their full-strength side which shows you how strong we are and how much they thought we were a threat.
“We will go to Ibrox believing we can win. We were there for one of the gaffer’s first game, got a draw, and the philosophy hasn’t changed much since then. We know our jobs and that hasn’t changed since those first games.
“We have a game plan which we know if we execute then we’ll have a good chance of winning any game.”
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