Source: Team_Talk
Naismith clinging to Euro hope
Steven Naismith insists Rangers' Champions League dream is still alive despite last night's crushing defeat in Valencia.[LNB] A double from Roberto Soldado and a late strike from Tino Costa sealed a 3-0 win for the Spaniards which allowed them to leapfrog Walter Smith's men into second spot in Group C.[LNB]Naismith knows leaders Manchester United and Valencia were favourites to progress at the start of the campaign.[LNB]But, having taken five points at the halfway stage, Rangers could have been forgiven for beginning to believe that a last-16 place was a possibility this term.[LNB]With rock-bottom Bursaspor still without a single point following their defeat by United, the Scottish champions should at least be able to take third place and a Europa League berth ahead of the Turks.[LNB]But Naismith claims Rangers are still refusing to give up on their Champions League hopes just yet.[LNB]"We still want to push for second place," he said.[LNB]"We have come so far between last season and this season in the Champions League and we want to push on and stay in the competition.[LNB]"We know it's going to be a tough ask but we will try our hardest. We will sit down and have a think about this performance.[LNB]"There are still six points up for grabs and we still want to take something from our next two games and continue our Champions League run."[LNB]Rangers host United at Ibrox in their next match and, having left Old Trafford with a point in their opening game, Naismith believes they should not be written off this time either.[LNB]He added: "We do believe we can take something. We have shown in the two games at home that we are good enough to compete against the top teams. We will need to play at our best but we will see how it goes."[LNB]Naismith, himself, hit the woodwork early on at the Mestalla and is well aware of how different the outcome could have been had the chance hit the back of the net instead.[LNB]He said: "This game was hard to take and it was pretty disappointing because to be honest that was probably our worst performance in the Champions League.[LNB]"If my chance had gone in, it changes the whole game. On the whole we are just disappointed with how it went.[LNB]"If we had got that goal it would have given us something to hold onto but we were unfortunate. It's just one of those things. It might have gone in on another night but that's football."[LNB]Naismith also refused to blame Rangers' small squad for the result, adding: "I don't think it was down to that, it was just a mixture of things.[LNB]"We showed we could create chances against Valencia in the first game at Ibrox and maybe we didn't get what we deserved from that game. This time they were quite attacking and it cost us with their players going forward."[LNB]
