Willo Flood would have loved to have been facing Steven Naismith at Ibrox regardless of the threat he could have posed to Dundee United.
Flood rates the striker as the best the SPL has to offer and is sorry he has been ruled out for the rest of the season with knee ligament damage.
So there will be no Naismith for Saturday’s clash between the Light Blues and Tangerines and that is a real pity, according to the United midfielder.
”They have lost the best player in the SPL and Naismith is obviously going to be a miss for them,” said Flood. ”He is a top-quality player and, if I am being honest, I would much rather he were on the park on Saturday.
”Everyone likes to pit their wits against the best players and he definitely falls into that category. So it is a shame he is out injured and not playing.
“I knew him from my last spell at United but since then he has improved so much. He has all the attributes and could easily play down in the English Premiership. That is how highly I rate him and wish him a successful recovery. I am sure he will come back even stronger.”
Even without Naismith, Flood warns there is still plenty of danger lurking in the Rangers ranks.
”They still have guys like Steven Davis and Lee McCulloch, who have plenty of experience,” he added. ”That shows strength in depth, so we are under no illusions about the size of task we are facing.
”But we will go there full of confidence. It will be a tough game but when I was here the last time we had a few decent results through at Ibrox.”
Flood has experienced something of a renaissance in form and was a contender for man-of-the-match as United beat Dunfermline 4-1 last weekend. He and his teammates performed well under pressure, with question marks hanging over boss Peter Houston’s head going into the east End Park fixture.
Now he is hoping to carry the momentum into the Rangers game.
”I was quite happy with my performance against Dunfermline,” he said. ”People have been asking: ‘Are you upset with your form?’ But I have replied: ‘Not really.’
”I have come back from two bad knee injuries, so I am just happy to be back playing again. You have to be mentally strong when you are out as you go through bad patches but you have to dig deep in those times. I think I will get better in time.”
As for the Pars clash, he revealed he had butterflies in his stomach as the game neared.
”I have never been so nervous in all my life just with all the nonsense that was going about,” said Flood. ”I have played in a lot of big games but because the manager is close to a lot of the players here, I was just determined to do the business for him.
”I wanted to do well for him and I think everyone else showed that they were right behind him. I have always been very close to the gaffer. Even when I left here I still stayed in contact with him.
”Good managers don’t come round that often, so when you get one you have to stick by him.”
Photo Lynne Cameron/PA Wire