SCOTT Arfield has revealed that he is relishing the chance to silence Rangers’ critics in the Champions League rematch against Napoli in Italy tonight.
Giovanni Van Bronckhorst’s side have been booed off the park by their own supporters in their last two domestic fixtures after poor performances.
The Ibrox club’s were unimpressed with their 1-0 win over Dundee in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-final in Govan last Wednesday night.
And they were deeply unhappy with the display in the cinch Premiership match against Livingston at home on Saturday – a game that they drew 1-1 when John Lundstram netted an injury-time equaliser.
Midfielder Arfield, who scored Rangers’ only goal in the Champions League this season in the mauling by Liverpool in Glasgow earlier this month, is keen to get back out onto the park.
The former Canadian internationalist is not in the slightest bit daunted at the prospect of facing the Serie A leaders in the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.
“It’s another opportunity,” he said. “That’s the great thing about this football club, we’ve got games every three days so we need to quickly get over it.
“You’re excited by the game this week. You’ve got the stadium and a team that is absolutely flying domestically and in this competition. But you have to be excited.
“There can’t be a fear. There has to be an absolute respect, which there is. But there can’t be a fear because these players sense it. When you’re dealing with this calibre of player and team, they sense fear.
“So you’re not fearful. You respect it. You know how difficult it’s going to be but it’s another opportunity, another game to get back on the right track and that’s what we’re looking to do.”
James Tavernier, the Rangers captain, admitted after the Livingston draw on Saturday that he and his team mates have to perform far better than they have been and Arfield agrees with the right back.
“He’s absolutely right,” he said. “I think it’s human nature to know when you’re not doing well.
“Performances and results speak for themselves. They’ve not been good enough and it’s the players who go over the line and perform. The performances haven’t been good enough.
“If you feel as if someone is feeling the weight, then that’s the honest conversations we’ve had - and we’ll continue to do so to get back to what we’re good at.”
