Source: Team_Talk
Robson rails at Old Firm criticism
Celtic and Rangers have both endured poor results in the Scottish Premier League and Europe, with fans on both sides of the divide making their frustration known at recent matches.[LNB]Celtic's latest setback came in the shape of Wednesday night's Co-operative Insurance Cup defeat to Hearts as the holders crashed out of the competition at the quarter-final stage to the sound of jeers from their own fans.[LNB]Rangers suffered a similar fate last week when they slumped to a humiliating 4-1 thrashing at the hands of little-known Romanian outfit Unirea Urziceni in the Champions League.[LNB]But Robson was keen to stress that these are almost the same teams who thrilled supporters with their exploits on the continent not so long ago and that neither have become bad teams overnight.[LNB]And the midfielder also pointed out that, for all Celtic's woes - they have won just two games in nine attempts at Parkhead this season - they still head into the weekend action at the summit of the SPL.[LNB]"It was only a year or two ago that a similar Rangers side got to the final of the UEFA Cup and we were playing in the last 16 of the Champions League and it's still similar sides," said Robson. "Maybe we are not playing at our best at the moment, which happens in football.[LNB]"In fact, I'm not even saying we are playing that badly because I think we are playing quite well actually.[LNB]"A lot of the games we could have won. Everyone here is in a positive mood, we are top of the league and if we win our next three games in Europe we will qualify. I think we are going to get better as the season goes on."[LNB]Celtic's profligacy in front of goal was highlighted once again against Hearts, with Georgios Samaras conspiring to squander several opportunities and Scott McDonald also unable to find the back of the net after coming off the bench.[LNB]But Robson scoffed at the suggestion that the strikers could be suffering from a lack of confidence, while admitting the rest of the team have to play a bigger part in getting the goals.[LNB]"If you know Scotty and Sami, you know they don't have a confidence crisis - not at all," he said.[LNB]"But it's not just up to them. I'm a great believer that everyone should chip in for goals and we all take responsibility for that.[LNB]"The goals will come. You could see last night, and in other games, that we are getting into good positions so the goals will come. That's not a problem at all.[LNB]"Wee Scotty has banged in 50 goals in two seasons so I've no fears about him scoring more goals, that's for sure.[LNB]"Scotty and Sami will start scoring sooner or later because they are good players."[LNB]The clash with Hearts was played in front of less than 19,000 fans with boss Tony Mowbray admitting afterwards that Celtic Park is usually "more atmospheric."[LNB]But Robson chose to put the low crowd down to the current economic climate rather than supporters disenchanted by their team's recent results, especially at home.[LNB]"It was still a decent crowd who turned out," he said. "We all know how expensive football is these days, we know there is a global recession which doesn't make it easy for anyone.[LNB]"But they were still there and cheering on the boys on the night which was good to see."[LNB]Asked if he had a message for those fans who did boo the team at the final whistle, Robson said: "Just to keep supporting us like they always do.[LNB]"They are the best fans in the world. They come out in massive numbers every week and we sell a massive amount of season books.[LNB]"It was a great turn-out last night and all the boys appreciate their support. The more fans who are there, the better for us.[LNB]"I think the fans appreciate how hard the boys are working and the chances we made.[LNB]"People are not daft. You can look at that game and analyse it and see how many chances we made and how many goals we could have scored and how well we played.[LNB]"You have to give Hearts credit as well, they counter-attacked well. I'm not saying it was just us, Hearts are a decent outfit.[LNB]"But I think everyone saw the effort we put in and I'm sure everything will come good for us."[LNB][LNB]
