Source: Team_Talk
Rising star Wilson expects the axe
The 17-year-old made only his third senior appearance for the Scottish champions when he was pitched into the crucial Champions League encounter in Bucharest alongside David Weir at the heart of the defence, having impressed against both Dundee and Dundee United in the last 10 days.[LNB]And, despite the pressure on Rangers to avoid defeat in the Steaua Stadium - which would have spelled the end of any hopes of progressing to the knockout stages - the talented youngster came through the 90 minutes with flying colours.[LNB]But, with Madjid Bougherra expecting to be fit for this weekend's visit of St Mirren in the SPL, Wilson insists he is taking nothing for granted in terms of remaining in Walter Smith's plans.[LNB]"I'm just taking things as they come," he said.[LNB]"I know there are more players in the squad who are capable of stepping back into the team.[LNB]"Just to have been given the nod for the couple of games I've played in so far has been excellent for me.[LNB]"I think I've done well so far but I need to keep trying as hard as I can when my chances come along. If I play I play and if I don't, I won't be too disheartened."[LNB]Wilson - who became the club's youngest debutant in Europe since Willie Henderson in 1961 - described the experience of playing in the continent's premier club competition as "unbelievable".[LNB]But the occasion proved to be a bitter-sweet one for the teenager, with his performance one of the few highlights of what proved to be another frustrating night for Smith's men.[LNB]A Lee McCulloch strike 11 minutes from time appeared to have secured Rangers' first win in the tournament this season and would have hauled them right back into contention for the last 16.[LNB]But a last-gasp leveller from Marius Onofras allowed Unirea to claim a share of the points, leaving their devastated visitors rooted to the bottom of Group G.[LNB]However, Wilson was keen to focus on the positives from the experience, adding: "It has been a great few days for me. To play against Dundee was great, although I didn't really expect to play in that match.[LNB]"I had heard a few rumours so to be playing in the Champions League just eight days later was unbelievable.[LNB]"The only thing that was disappointing was that we didn't get a result here.[LNB]"I thought we were excellent. To lose a goal at the end the way we did was hard to take but we'll have to lift ourselves again and get going once more at the weekend."[LNB]Steven Naismith believes the performance in Romania went some way to atoning for their dismal 4-1 defeat at the hands of Unirea at Ibrox a fortnight ago.[LNB]But he admits, should Rangers fail to qualify from the group, their limited run in the Champions League will be down to that capitulation in Glasgow more than any other match.[LNB]He told www.rangers.co.uk: "Hopefully we've gone a little way to making up for our 4-1 defeat to Unirea a couple of weeks back with the way we played here.[LNB]"But we can talk about how costly the goal was we lost last night all we like - I just hope the bigger mistake a fortnight ago doesn't come back to haunt us.[LNB]"To lose 4-1 at home to anyone simply isn't good enough for a club such as Rangers and that's a big part of the reason we find ourselves in the situation we're in now.[LNB]"That's a bigger issue for us than the fact we drew 1-1 in Romania. We really let ourselves down that night because we didn't turn up.[LNB]"I just hope in the long run that that doesn't cost us. Our performances have improved and we've come a long way but we're in a difficult situation."[LNB]Four points from their remaining two games could be enough for Rangers to progress but the need for back-to-back wins is more likely.[LNB]Naismith added: "Now all we can do is look for good performances against Stuttgart and Sevilla, try to get as many points as we can and see where that takes us."[LNB][LNB]
