05 August 2022

Oli Shaw keen for Kilmarnock to capitalise on Rangers’ defeat

05 August 2022

Kilmarnock striker Oli Shaw hopes to capitalise on any restlessness among the Rangers fans when he travels to Ibrox on Saturday.

Rangers go into the game on the back of a 2-0 Champions League qualifying defeat by Union Saint-Gilloise.

They were also behind for most of their opening cinch Premiership encounter at Livingston before securing a 2-1 win and Shaw is targeting an upset in Govan.

“It will be a tough test but it’s one you want to look forward to and relish,” the former Hibernian and Ross County striker said.

“Obviously we have a few new boys in the squad so they will be looking forward to that.

“Being there before, I know what to expect. But we go there full of confidence after last weekend’s performance.

“I don’t know if there’s ever a good time to play them. Obviously it’s their first home game so the fans will be right behind them.

“Coming off a defeat in Europe the other day they will want a reaction to that, so we know that.

“But it’s one of those that if we start early, we can catch them cold and the fans may turn a wee bit. So we will see what happens.”

Shaw was part of the Hibs squad that won twice at Ibrox in the 2017-18 season, coming off the bench in a 2-1 victory.

“It’s always going to be tough but I know the feeling of winning there and hopefully we can do that at the weekend,” he said.

“That belief is key and after the weekend’s performance I think we have that.”

Shaw is set to line up alongside former Rangers striker Kyle Lafferty, who has shrugged off the back injury that forced him out of the bulk of the Premier Sports Cup group stage.

It is a partnership that yielded eight goals from nine starts last season and Shaw believes it can go from strength to strength.

“We had that at the back end of last year and we have been working on a lot of things in training together,” he said.

“I think we work well together and have a good balance of what we bring to the team. It’s been working well and hopefully long may it continue.”

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