Kemar Roofe: We Go Again On Boxing Day

RANGERS fans around the world will spend the next day or two tucking into their Christmas dinner of choice with all the usual trimmings while perhaps partaking in a drink or two to wash it all down.

For the Rangers first-team, however, such festivities will be at an absolute minimum, with their eyes only on delivering another three points against Hibernian on Boxing Day.

After last night claiming the victory with a clinical 3-0 win over St Johnstone, the Leith club are next to try and derail the fantastic run of form being shown by Steven Gerrard’s side.

To avoid that being the case, the full focus of the players is now on recovering and being absolutely in the right frame of mind to face their challenge, according to striker Kemar Roofe.

Roofe, who moved onto seven goals from his last six Premiership matches in Perth explained: "We will need to prepare right as if it is not Christmas, as if it is just a normal day and we go again on Boxing Day, simple as that."

The win at McDiarmid Park saw Roofe playing through the middle as a central striker, as opposed to a slightly deeper role he has perhaps performed in recent weeks.

That meant when goalkeeper Zander Clark spilled a Ianis Hagi shot, he was in the right place at the right time to net, and he continued: "It was a massive three points away from home.

We knew it was going to be a tough, physical game and I thought we matched that and let our quality show as well.

"I played as a 'nine' against St Johnstone and one of the main jobs as a 'nine' is to play within the width of the goals and be ready, and as soon as someone shoots, be ready for the second ball.

"You never know if the 'keeper is going to drop something so you have to be there, and thankfully I was.

"We are taking it game by game and we needed the three points there. It all stems from the St Mirren defeat as well - that still hurts us and it has given us an extra boost to keep pushing."

Hagi too had a great night under the lights on the banks of the Tay, and it was he who grabbed the third, clinching goal for his side.

Roofe was thrilled for his teammate, saying: "He has been waiting a long time for a start, and in training he has been showing it and when he comes on in games, he has been showing it.

"[On Wednesday night] he really did show it - he got an assist, he got a goal and it was a great performance."