‘We know the position we’re in’ - Scott Arfield urges Rangers team-mates to keep piling pressure on Celtic

The 34-year-old scored twice in the space of two injury-time minutes at Pittodrie.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Scott Arfield is confident Rangers are building a head of steam as they continue to apply pressure on Premiership leaders Celtic at the summit heading into the festive period.

The vastly experienced midfielder was the Ibrox side’s saviour against Aberdeen on Tuesday night when his two goal-scoring heroics deep into stoppage time at Pittodrie sealing a 3-2 victory and maintaining boss Michael Beale’s unbeaten start to his tenure.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Light Blues remain on the coat-tails of Celtic, who edged past Livingston 2-1 at Parkhead on Wednesday, to regain their nine-point lead, but Arfield knows his team mates must keep their foot firmly on the peddle and churn out maximum points to remain in the title race.

Rangers substitute Scott Arfield celebrates his dramatic late winner against Aberdeen at Pittodrie. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)Rangers substitute Scott Arfield celebrates his dramatic late winner against Aberdeen at Pittodrie. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)
Rangers substitute Scott Arfield celebrates his dramatic late winner against Aberdeen at Pittodrie. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

He stated: “To score in any game is brilliant, especially in this fixture when you know how feisty it is. You can win the game in the first 10 minutes or in the last two, as we did the other night - it doesn’t matter as long as you get the three points.

“As much as it feels big at the moment, the manner in which it happened, we are still trailing behind and we know that. That has to be the mentality at the moment. We need to keep putting pressure on and keep doing the right thing. Hopefully if we do that, it will change for us.

“We need to get momentum and we need to get it fast. There are no if, buts or maybes about that. We know the position we are in. The manager has instilled his message from the very first training session. If you fall beneath those standards, you are not going to be playing, so it’s about doing well and keeping the mentality strong.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“The character is there. I think we’re showing that. A lot of the times this season we feel we have been done by last-minute goals or on other occasions we have drawn games where we felt we’d done enough to win annd dominated. It’s better when you win and even better when you get a couple of last-minute goals. We’re hoping that continues and that we don’t make it as nervous moving forward.”

Beale praised his side’ for displaying a never-say-die attitude once more but warned his players need to improve their performance level in his post-match comments and Arfield believes the Englishman is getting his point across effectively.

Rangers manager Michael Beale has been hailed for his tactics and man-management.Rangers manager Michael Beale has been hailed for his tactics and man-management.
Rangers manager Michael Beale has been hailed for his tactics and man-management.

The Gers have made a positive start under the former QPR manager - following up an impressive 3-0 friendly win over Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen with two successive battling performances against both Hibernian and then the Dons.

Arfield added: “The manager’s message has always been clear. From a player’s point of view, we have tried to pick it up as quickly as possible. The Leverkusen game was a good indicator of that. We played some terrific stuff and we built on that, or at least we’ve tried to. You saw a different side against Aberdeen and that’s now three wins the manager has under his belt.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“The whole game was eventful. It was a typical Scottish game in many ways, the fans were right after it. We got off to a good start, we scored a good goal and we could have had a couple. But a great free-kick for their boy takes us into half-time level. We had enough chances to win that first half so that was disappointing.

“We just didn’t start in the second half and they had a couple of chances. From there, it was all about us trying to get the right result and starting a busy week off as best we could.”

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.