Little keen on front and centre

24 February 2013 13:38
Andy Little is determined to nail down his place as Rangers' top striker after bagging his fifth goal in three games. The Northern Ireland forward netted the pick of the bunch as the Light Blues fought back from behind to claim a 3-1 win at Berwick on Saturday. Injury problems within the squad meant Little was recently handed his preferred role of playing through the middle up front and he has not disappointed so far. And he hopes he is on the right path to convincing boss Ally McCoist he should stay there. Little said: "It's always been my aim. But there are other players who can do that role. "They've been unlucky with injuries and thankfully I've had a good run now. "I've stayed injury-free and I'm playing reasonably well so I'm just happy with that. "At the start of the season, 'Jig' (Lee McCulloch) was playing up there and he was scoring goals for fun himself so there was no need to change it. "I was thrown in because there was nobody else to play the position at the time and I'm delighted with how I've done in the three games I've played up there. "I just need to keep it going and keep my place." An Anestis Argyriou own-goal handed Berwick the lead after just four minutes before Dean Shiels levelled from the penalty spot. Little then fired Rangers into the lead on the stroke of half time with a lovely volley and Sebastien Faure came off the bench to open his account for the club in the second half. Little has now netted five goals against Berwick alone this season. He said: "I was delighted with the goal but I expect myself to score goals when I play up front for Rangers so I only did what I was supposed to do. "I'm happy to score against anyone. My main aim this season was to play as many games as I can. "I'm keeping track of how many games I'm playing more than how many goals I'm scoring. That's the most important thing for me." Rangers were fortunate to escape with a 1-1 draw from their last visit to Shielfield at the start of the season, as they struggled to adapt to life in the Irn-Bru Third Division. But Little believes the Light Blues have now got to grips with their new surroundings in the bottom division. He said: "It was very similar to the last match here, a scrappy game. "The weather, the pitch - it's easy to make excuses and I think maybe that's what we did at the start of the season. "If this game had been at the start of the season, we might not have gone on to win it like we did. "That's the most pleasing thing, that we showed we've got the battling qualities that you need to go on and win a league. "I think we're just a bit more streetwise. "I don't think there was a feeling that we thought it was going to be easy in this league. "But you learn from your mistakes and that's what we've done."

Source: team_talk