sport

VELICKA: TIME TO MOVE ON

Velicka - focused on title bid.

Andrius Velicka secured an opening-day win for Rangers in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League - then insisted they must now put their Kaunas nightmare behind them.

The striker opened his competitive account for the Ibrox club when he netted the only goal at Falkirk to ensure a positive end to a difficult week.

The pressure was on to begin the SPL campaign with a win after Rangers were sent crashing out of Europe by Velicka's former team in a crucial Champions League qualifier on Tuesday night.

Rangers have spent the days since agonising over what went wrong in Lithuania but, now they are off to a winning start domestically, Velicka believes it is time to look ahead.

He said: "It was disappointing but we have to forget it - it's history.

"We now just have to give full effort in the SPL and make sure we win it.

"We won and we are happy. We start the league with three points and that is good for us."

Rangers looked far from convincing and would have been chasing the game had Michael Higdon's penalty not been saved by Allan McGregor when the match was still level.

Asked whether the Ibrox club were fortunate to leave Falkirk with maximum points, Velicka shrugged: "We won it and that is the main point.

"It was the opening game and we were a little bit nervous. That's normal. But we got the three points and we need to keep this effort going."

Velicka joined Rangers this summer less than four months after quitting Hearts for Norwegian outfit Viking Stavanger.

He has been playing football non-stop for a year now and believes his match fitness gave him the edge when he was paired with Kris Boyd yesterday.

He said: "It is helping me now but I don't know if it will help me in three or four months. But I hope to play in every single game."

However, with no fewer than three new forwards arriving since last season, Velicka is realistic enough to know he faces a fight to remain in Walter Smith's plans.

He added: "There are a lot of good strikers in the team but it's the manager's choice.

"It's a challenge for every striker and player to work hard in every training session. I think Kris and I did not bad."

Falkirk boss John Hughes believes the penalty miss was the pivotal moment in the game - but insists he would have no problem with Higdon taking the next spot-kick.

He said: "Possibly missing the penalty turned the game but big Higdon is a wonderful guy and he was brave enough to take it.

"I would have liked to have seen him put the laces through it but it wasn't to be. He took one over in Holland and slotted it away superbly.

"You can nominate penalty takers but the guys usually decide within the team and say 'Give me that ball.'

"Michael was brave enough to do that. I've no problem with him taking the next one if he is big enough to do it."