Rangers’ Steven Naismith ready for Valencia test
Rangers attacker Steven Naismith is ready to take on La Liga side Valencia when the sides meet in a UEFA Champions League group stage match this week.
Naismith will be going into the game on the back of a stellar run of form which has seen him net a winner against Turkish league champions Bursaspor and a late winner against Heart of Midlothian in the Scottish Premier League.
He also scored in the 4-1 thumping of Motherwell and scored his first goal for Scotland against world champions Spain in a UEFA 2012 European Football Championship qualifying match.
With SPL champions Rangers also enjoying a strong run of form, as they have yet to be defeated in any competition this season, Naismith has reason to believe that his side can add to their four points.
"We've started the (Champions League) campaign really well and we need to try and continue that. Valencia are a top side and we have a very tough task in front of us. We know we are going to have to concentrate for the full 90 minutes. We know they're a
top team. They've got some world class players, which we already know about, but we'll take what we can from their match against Barcelona."
The Scotland international was referring to the fact that Valencia suffered their first Primera Division defeat of the 2010-11 campaign at the hands of Barcelona on Saturday, 16 October, where a Pablo Hernandez strike was not enough to claim any points against
Barca.
Despite that loss, Naismith and his team-mates will be wary of the talents of a team which contains several 2010 FIFA World Cup winners and had topped the league until the weekend.
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