Rangers V Raith at Ibrox Stadium : Match Preview

04 September 2015 14:31
Rangers V Raith - view commentary, squad, and statistics of the game live.


Rangers 'baffled' after Raith claim Ibrox club breached rules over Ryan Hardie

Rangers claim Raith Rovers' questioning of Ryan Hardie's return from Scotland Under-19 duty ahead of their clash on Saturday is "baffling".

The Ibrox club also claim their rivals have "besmirched the honour" of assistant manager Davie Weir in doing so and are seeking an apology.

The Kirkcaldy club released a statement on Thursday asking if the Scottish FA's compliance officer agreed with them that the Light Blues, through Weir, "have breached SFA articles and rules by requesting and securing the early release" of 18-year-old forward Hardie from Scot Gemmill's squad.

The under-19s are in Bulgaria for a friendly double-header - the first game on Wednesday ending in a 1-1 draw with the second taking place on Friday night.

It was reported that Rovers waived the opportunity to do the same with Craig Wighton, who is on loan from Ladbrokes Premiership side Dundee.

A statement on Rangers' official website read: "Rangers FC insists there are no grounds for Raith Rovers' allegation that a rule breach may have been committed by the club.

"Rangers also consider that Raith Rovers' spurious claim could have besmirched the honour of assistant manager David Weir by making specific reference to him.

"Neither Rangers nor David Weir acted wrongly in requesting the return from under-19 Scotland duty of Ryan Hardie ahead of tomorrow's Ladbrokes Championship match against Raith Rovers.

"This was done with the approval of the SFA, within the rules and in the full knowledge that Raith Rovers would be offered the same opportunity to bring Craig Wighton, their loan player from Dundee, home.

"They declined but then issued a statement alleging Rangers has somehow broken the rules. This action is baffling.

"Rangers, as many other clubs have done in the past, acted within the rules and the very thought that David Weir, who served his country with great distinction winning 69 caps, might have been trying to undermine an international side is preposterous.

"Rangers has also written directly to Raith Rovers Chief Executive Eric Drysdale seeking to understand his Club's motive behind such vexatious action and an apology to David is the very least Raith Rovers should be offering."

The spat will add spice, if needed, to a packed Ibrox, where the vast majority of fans will be hoping to see Mark Warburton's side make it nine wins in a row in all competitions since the start of the season.

However, the Gers boss looked back at his time with former club Brentford to put himself in the shoes of Rovers.

He said: "The opposition can go there (Ibrox) with little expectation and enjoy themselves.

"Last year if we (Brentford) were going away as the smaller team in the English Championship we would always use that. Not expected to win, just play fearless football, enjoy yourself, give 100 per cent and see where it leaves you.

"It can work both ways. You can go to Ibrox and be inspired as a team, look at the surroundings, the quality of the pitch, a 50,000 sell-out and say 'what's not to enjoy about this?'

"So we have to make sure we do our job, try to dominate possession, create chances and score goals."

Craig Barr (groin), Ross Callachan (shoulder) and Lewis Vaughan (knee) have all been ruled out for Rovers.

Manager Ray McKinnon said: "We are facing a home side playing with extreme confidence, one that has a strong winning mentality and likes to score a lot of goals. However, we are looking forward to it as it will be a terrific occasion.

"We did well at Hibs last weekend and deserved more than the 2-0 defeat that we had, and if we put on a similar level of performance at Ibrox then I will be pleased."


Source: PAR