Partick Thistle will likely need to have the rub of the green at Ibrox tomorrow afternoon if they are to progress to the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup but the visiting players will know that the challenge facing them is anything but insurmountable.
Brian Graham can attest to that. The Thistle striker was part of the Dundee United team that knocked Rangers out of the Scottish Cup semis in 2014, with the tie played at Ibrox while Hampden was being prepared for the Commonwealth Games.
“I have got positive memories there and that was like a home game for Rangers that day,” Graham said. “It was actually like an Old Firm game because we had the Dundee United fans fully behind the goal and we had the wee bit round the corner, it was a great atmosphere that day.
“We will be under no illusions, we know we’re the underdogs but if we can get that crowd on the Rangers players’ backs then it can be a different game if we go and score the first goal.”
The sizeable home crowd will be something of a novelty factor for Thistle but it will not be the only one at play tomorrow afternoon. The cup tie also marks the first occasion where VAR will be in use during a game involving the Jags but Graham won’t let that put him off.
The centre-forward can cut a fairly aggressive figure at times on the park and is no stranger to a booking, but he insists VAR’s all-seeing eye won’t cause a change in approach.
“Listen I’m 35 years of age,” he says matter-of-factly. “There is no chance of me changing now and it doesn’t matter if there is a camera on me or not, so I’ll be me and I will go and enjoy the game.”
VAR might not be changing the players’ attitudes but Graham believes that Thistle have already been affected by the technology’s implementation in the Premiership.
The centre-forward will be back in the squad for the trip to Govan after being sent off during last weekend’s 1-0 defeat at home to Cove Rangers as the suspension doesn’t carry over to the Scottish Cup. He remains perplexed that he was handed his marching orders last weekend and believes the incident shows the downside of VAR for lower league clubs.
“I know VAR is going to be in the game and I think the Championship is actually really getting hindered, if I’m being honest with you, with VAR,” Graham said. “Because I think the standard of referees that we usually get are now in a room watching a TV screen and we’re getting the guys up who, maybe it’s not for me to say, that are maybe not ready for that level yet.
“We’re getting all the rookies and I think in all my career I don’t think I have ever been sent off for swearing before. That’s what I got sent off for last week, which is very harsh considering he [the referee] got told to f off in the first half and did nothing about it, so there is a wee bit of inconsistency there.
“I was a wee bit annoyed last week and that’s when I went back and thought about it that we’re getting hindered by VAR because we are not getting the same quality of referees unless it is a Friday night game on the TV.
“If you look at our top referee, Willie Collum, for example. I’ve swore at Willie before and he will just pull you and go 'who you talking to?'. And then you’ll go ‘listen, I apologise’ and there is a dialogue between a player and a referee and there is a bit of understanding, a bit of respect.”
Graham is adamant, however, that he will not harness that sense of injustice to motivate him tomorrow afternoon.
“No, because it is a totally different game,” he reasoned. “We’re going to have VAR in operation, we’re going to have a top referee in the country, you’re going to one of the best stadiums. So I don’t think we’re going to have a rookie referee this weekend, that’s for sure.”
No matter what the result is tomorrow, Graham will not be hanging around to celebrate. As manager of the woman’s side, most of his Sunday afternoons are spent on the sidelines as he barks out orders and this weekend will be no different.
The 4pm kick-off time for the Scottish Cup tie means that Graham finds himself double-booked, with his own side hosting a cup game of their own across the city at Petershill Park at 6pm.
“It’s actually a bit complicated this weekend,” he says. “They’ve got a Scottish Cup tie against Hearts at six o’clock so I will be running straight from Ibrox!
“I might miss the first half an hour and my assistant manager will take the game until I get there so there is a bit of higgery pokery that will need to be done. I will get the car dropped off at Ibrox and as soon as the whistle goes I will get in, showered and over to Petershill for the Scottish Cup tie.
“I’m going to miss [any potential celebrations], I’m going to need to go and go and support my girls because we have got a huge cup tie.
“We got to the semi-final last year with them and we’re sitting in the top six with four games to go before the split. If we can go and do that in the second season in the top flight it would be a fantastic achievement. I’ll be in and out like a Mario Kart.”
Macklin Motors Nissan Glasgow Central is proud sponsor of Partick Thistle FC - visit www.macklinmotors.co.uk.
