GLASGOW: Rangers manager Walter Smith said new signing El Hadji Diouf is ready for the white-hot atmosphere of the Old Firm derby after stating “serial killers get better press” than the Senegal international.
The former African player of the year, signed on loan from Blackburn Rovers on Monday, was named on the bench for Wednesday’s match against Hearts at Ibrox along with fellow new recruits David Healy and Kyle Bartley.
However he got his first taste of Scottish football earlier than expected when he came off the bench to replace the injured Lee McCulloch in the 20th minute of Rangers’ 1-0 win that moved them to five points behind rivals Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premier League.
Diouf has a colourful reputation after being involved in a number of controversial incidents during his career, notably being fined when he spat at a Celtic fan in 2003 while playing for Liverpool.
But the striker, who has also played for Bolton and Lens, came through his Rangers debut incident free despite coming in for some rough treatment from a Hearts team that saw Marius Zaliukas, Ian Black and Ryan Stevenson all booked for challenges on the Senegalese player.
Afterwards, Smith said he had no qualms about fielding Diouf in the always volatile surroundings of a Glasgow derby when Rangers face Celtic in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup tomorrow.
“He needs time because he has not played for a few weeks now,” Smith said of his loan signing.
“I thought he did that very well. Overall, I was pleased with the way he played considering serial killers get better publicity than he has over the last few days.
“It was never going to be easy for him after all that, so I’m obviously pleased he managed to handle it.
“We were only going to look to play him in in the second half of the game.
“He’s got a bit longer than we thought, so he’ll be ready for Sunday’s game.”
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