Steven Naismith hailed Hearts for setting up another semi-final crack at Rangers - then promised his stars are hungry to avenge their last Hampden meeting as they eye cup glory.
24.02.2024 - 06:49 / dailyrecord.co.uk
Philippe Clement refused to lose his cool when faced with the superstar threats of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.
So, the Rangers gaffer asks, why should he be rattled by the prospect of his team staring down Lawrence Shankland?
Well, with 26 goals this season for club and country, the Hearts support will counter that the Light Blues boss best be worried as their red-hot frontman shapes up for today’s trip to Ibrox. It’s another opportunity on a huge stage for the striker to show Steve Clarke he’s the man to lead the Scotland attack at this summer’s Euros.
With 14 strikes in his last 12 games, the 28-year-old is in the form of his life. There’s certainly plenty of respect on Clement's part for what the Jambos skipper has achieved with Stevie Naismith’s side over the past seven months. But fear? Not likely. Clement knows Hearts are no more a one-man side than the PSG team his old Monaco outfit faced last year were a force that could be blunted simply by halting their mega-talented triumvirate up top.
The big Belgian survived that brush with the Parisian’s glittering strike force by spending the build-up working on a plan that emphasised his own team’s talents rather than one that diminished their’s. It worked, with Monaco holding their own in a 1-1 draw at the Parc des Princes, and he is counting on that approach to do the job when his new league leaders set out this afternoon looking to open up a five-point lead on Celtic.
“It is important [to keep Shankland quiet] because he has scored more than 50 per cent of their goals,” said the Rangers boss. That is a lot of points if you see all season.
“It is not about being focused on him and forgetting the rest because then there will be other guys who make the difference.
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