MX23RW : Monday, May 6 01:09:44| >> :120:64157:64157:

My Livi Lions won't be lambs to the slaughter at Ibrox – Gary Holt

My Livi Lions won't be lambs to the slaughter at Ibrox – Gary Holt
© Reuters
Livingston were surprise 1-0 winners over Rangers earlier in the season.

Livingston left Rangers whimpering the last time they met but boss Gary Holt admits it will be a different beast waiting for them at Ibrox on Saturday.

The Lions shocked Steven Gerrard's Light Blues back in September when Dolly Menga's winner clinched them a 1-0 upset at the Tony Macaroni Arena.

Gerrard confessed his side could have played "for another 180 minutes and would not have looked like scoring" after watching them slump in West Lothian.

But Holt expects to see Rangers bare their teeth back in Glasgow.

"The last game is done and dusted – it will have no relevance at all," said Holt. "In Scottish football you get to play each other quite a bit, so you can't focus on what you've done before.

"It can allow you to show the players where we did hurt them previously and where Rangers caused us problems.

"But we're away from home this time and we have to go there and stand up to the test.

"At Ibrox, Rangers are scoring a lot of goals and they are certainly a different beast."

Holt tasted success in Govan as a player and even netted in a 3-0 Kilmarnock win over Dick Advocaat's big-spending Rangers line-up back in October 2000.

Now he wants his players to carve out their own moments to remember.

He said: "It will take a different kind of performance to last time, of course it will. We'll have to be braver, we'll have to stand up and be counted.

"There's an atmosphere that the players need to relish. They should go out with a smile on their face and enjoy it. Not many players get to sample that platform.

"I've been to Ibrox as a player and won a few games. I actually scored there too – thought I'd drop that in! Suddenly you have a wee swagger, your chest puffs out.

"I want the boys to embrace the challenge and showcase their talents on the biggest stage. We'll see who wants to do it."

Allan McGregor will be the man Livi have to beat if they are to get a result and Holt is hoping his team can do better than Israel striker Tomer Hemed, who was foiled by the Scotland number one's stunning late save at Hampden on Tuesday.

He said: "Allan has done that throughout his whole career.

"I will be delighted if we get in the areas that allow us to test him enough. That's what we want to do.

"We're not going there to be lambs to the slaughter. We want to implement our game plan, score goals and win the game. We're not going there for a point... we're going for three."

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Andy Newport, Press Association Sport');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', '70c819d2-7717-4e93-8c57-7d94a576392f');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:club-news,paservice:sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'My Livi Lions won\u2019t be lambs to the slaughter at Ibrox \u2013 Gary Holt'});

ID:342160: cacheID:342160:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:5184:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Hamilton Academical manager Martin Canning pictured in 2016
Read Next:
Canning hails Hamilton resilience as they dig deep to end winless run
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
Championship Group
1Celtic220085275884
2RangersRangers220078255381
3Hearts20114637963
4Kilmarnock20114438652
5St Mirren21014246-446
6Dundee20024659-1341
Relegation Group
1Hibernian21014854-642
2Aberdeen22003749-1241
3Motherwell21015053-340
4Ross County21013459-2533
5St Johnstone20022550-2531
RLivingston21012563-3821
 
First Phase
1Celtic33246380265478
2RangersRangers33243672234975
3Hearts33195946341262
4Kilmarnock33131284334951
5St Mirren33127143843-543
6Dundee331011124454-1041
7Hibernian33912124451-739
8Motherwell33813124651-537
9Aberdeen33811143549-1435
10St Johnstone33710162446-2231
11Ross County3379173256-2430
RLivingston3339212259-3718


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!