RANGERS' present trend towards departures goes temporarily into reverse tonight, when Steven Naismith returns to the first team for the Homecoming Scottish Cup fourth round tie against St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.
Manager Walter Smith confirmed that the former Kilmarnock forward will play in the match, his first since the cruciate ligament injury he sustained against the same opponents in the semi-final of the same tournament at Hampden Park last April. It s
eems likely, however, that Naismith will be seen in an unfamiliar role.
The ankle injury that is likely to keep Kyle Lafferty inactive for three weeks leaves an opening on the left of the midfield four and Naismith is likely to be nominated to fill the vacancy. His recovery from serious injury is well ahead of the schedule originally suggested by the surgeon who operated on his knee.
"He has made a good recovery," said Smith. "It's been a frustrating period for him, because he's a lad who likes to be involved in everything, from training every day to playing. He's very versatile, too, where positions are concerned. He's a bit like Nacho Novo, in that he can play right across the front line. I think, ultimately, he'll be a striker. Jim Jefferies at Kilmarnock, though, told me that Stevie can also play anywhere in midfield, wide or in a central position. So, if he is played on the left of the middle four, I won't have any qualms about it."
Naismith himself appeared unaffected by any lingering psychological damage from an injury that can end a player's career, or from the possibility of being "haunted" by the fact that his first opponents since the black day will be St Johnstone.
"We actually played Saints in a bounce match at Murray Park recently, so, in that respect, this is just another game for me," said Naismith. "The recovery period has been quicker than the surgeon thought – he said, on average, it could be a year before I could play again – but I was able to avoid too much frustration by the way the physios looked after me.
"They kept setting little goals, one after the other, and concentrating on reaching them kept me occupied. The first one, strangely, was actually to learn to walk properly again. If you don't get that right, you could have a little limp a lot longer than you'd want. It was my first major injury, so it was great the way they got me through that and now I'm really looking forward to getting back.
"As far as where I play is concerned, I grew up as a striker, or playing just off the main striker, so that's probably what I prefer. But at a club like Rangers, you really can't be choosey, can you? I'll be very happy to play where I'm told. Playing is the main thing."
The re-match with St Johnstone is soon enough after the last, uncomfortable encounter – it will be remembered that Rangers had to win a penalty shoot-out to progress to the final – to persuade Smith of the need to field as strong a team as possible.
"Last year, we had to make changes to the team out of necessity, because of the heavy schedule we had in four competitions at the time," said the manager. "That doesn't apply this time, so we'll be as strong as possible. I think St Johnstone have improved, if anything, since the last time we played.
"The First Division is a tough league to play in and they're looking like favourites to win it. At clubs like Rangers and Celtic, we're used to teams raising their game. We tend to put an extra edge on matches like this, especially when we're away from home.
"You saw Celtic, even at Parkhead, beat Dundee by a single goal at the weekend, and we ourselves had draws last season with Partick Thistle and St Johnstone and a very close match with Queen of the South in the cup final. So the First Division sides on these occasions aren't going to lie down. Outside the Premier League, St Johnstone are as tough an opponent as we could have.
"I think the first objective in matches like these is to avoid the kind of sluggish start that can put you in bother and be difficult to recover from. We've seen that often enough before.
"We have to try to impose ourselves early, let our opponents know that we're as keen to get the job done as they are."
BACKGROUND
• Scottish Cup semi-final
20 April, 2008
St Johnstone 1, Rangers 1 (aet, Rangers won 4-3 on pens)
After a goalless 90 minutes St Johnstone gave Rangers a massive fright by taking the lead at Hampden through Daniel McBreen in extra-time. Nacho Navo equalised from the penalty-spot, before the Uefa Cup finalists sneaked through 4-3 on penalties.
• CIS Cup, quarter-final
8 November, 2006
Rangers 0, St Johnstone 2
Paul Le Guen's Rangers were stunned by the First Division leaders at Ibrox as a double from Steven Milne settled this quarter-final. An overhead kick in the 52nd minute gave Saints the lead, then Milne outpaced Brahim Hemdani in the 68th minute to seal a famous victory for Owen Coyle's side.
The full article contains 893 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
