Scott Wright on a 'cheeky man', derby belief and 'cut-throat' Rangers

Firstly, when the stadium announcer somewhat bizarrely credited Rangers captain James Tavernier with the shot he had fired past Hibernian goalkeeper David Marshall and into the side netting from a tight angle. 

And then, far more frustratingly for the winger, when VAR official Andrew Dallas ruled that he had encroached into the Hibs area before his skipper had struck his penalty after viewing replays of the spot kick over at Clydesdale House.

But Wright - who helped his side, who have a game in hand still to play, to record a 3–1 triumph which kept them just a point behind Celtic in the cinch Premiership table going into the third Old Firm game of the season - has no concerns whatsoever about the ability of his team to find the target. 

READ MORE: Hibs facing SFA disciplinary action for X swipe at Rangers penalty

Tavernier became the highest-scoring defender in British football history at the weekend – his 131st strike saw him eclipse the achievements of former Scotland internationalist Graham Alexander - when he broke the deadlock in the first half.

The right back, though, is far from the only member of Philippe Clement’s squad who can keep his composure in the final third. They have been on target on no fewer than 29 occasions in the 11 league matches they have played since the last derby. That is more than any other top flight outfit in 2024.

Failing to capitalise on the scoring chances they created cost Rangers dear against Celtic at Ibrox back in September and again at Parkhead in December. But Wright feels that every outfield player is now capable of pitching in. He revealed they are “confident” of getting a result in their next outing at Ibrox on Sunday.  

“The manager is obviously big on everyone scoring goals, whether that is the defenders or the midfielders or the strikers,” he said. “He is not bothered who is scoring as long as we are scoring.

“We want to be more clinical as a team regardless of how many we are scoring. You can see the way the manager wants us to be – if we score four he wants us to score five or six. He wants us to be so cut-throat.

“It is something we are always going to look to improve on. We are never going to be happy standing still here. We always want to improve.”

Asked what frame of mind Rangers are in ahead of the Celtic match, Wright added: “We are confident. I think we are in a right good spot as a team in terms of momentum and the way we are playing.

“Sometimes these games are just flash in the pan and it is a case of who wants it more. These games are always so important for us as a team and we know how much it means for the fans as well. So, yeah, we will go into the game with confidence and take it as it comes.”

READ MORE: Tavernier on breaking UK record and Rangers penalty miss reason

Tavernier was joined on the scoresheet on Saturday by Cyriel Dessers, who headed Todd Cantwell cross in off the underside of the crossbar shortly before half-time, and substitute Rabbi Matondo, who curled a long-range effort beyond Marshall with five minutes of regulation time remaining.

Wright has been pleased to see the likes of Cantwell, Dessers, Matondo, Ross McCausland, Abdallah Sima and Dujon Sterling put their injury problems behind them and return to the fray and believes Rangers are well placed for personnel going into both the Celtic match and the title run-in.

“The physio team has done great getting all the boys back,” he said. “It is a case now of everyone trying to give the manager a headache, whether that is playing from the start or coming on off the bench and trying to help the team.”

The former Aberdeen youngster expects there to be spells during the Celtic game when Rangers will be on the back foot and will need to defend. He has, however, no fears about their ability to withstand the pressure they will be under having seen them recover from first having a goal disallowed and then Hibs equalising on Saturday.   

“I think it shows the character of the team we are trying to build,” he said. “It is the team that the manager wants us to look like. It is a bit frustrating when the goal didn’t stand. Then Tav scores. We were disappointed to lose the goal just before half-time. But, again, it showed the character of the team to get another goal just before half-time ourselves.

“Every game poses different challenges throughout the game, even before the game. But I think Saturday showed the character of the team. It is a case of us dusting ourselves down, not being downbeat about whatever decision takes place on the pitch and just getting on with it.

“It was good to get back after the international break. All the boys were itching to get back in amongst the games. I thought we had a lot of good momentum going into the break. It was a case of taking the game as it was, getting a win and then building on it.”

READ MORE: Clement explains why Roofe missed Rangers' win over Hibs

Can Rangers build on their Hibs win and record what would be a psychologically significant triumph over their city rivals at Ibrox on Sunday? The return of Cantwell, McCausland, Sima and Sterling has increased their prospects of doing so no end. Having every supporter in the 50,000-strong crowd cheering them on will help their cause no end too.

If they do win, Wright will maybe forgive the stadium announcer who gave his goal to Tavernier before it was chalked off. “Cheeky man!” he grinned.