CLINT HILL has warned Steven Gerrard’s raft of new boys that they will NEVER have experienced anything like being a Rangers player before. Veteran stopper Hill arrived at Gers at the age of 37 after years plying his trade in the Premier League. Hill celebrates after netting an equaliser at Celtic ParkPA:Press Association But even he was stunned by the level of expectation surrounding the club, and life in the Glasgow goldfish bowl, when he joined in the summer of 2016. Hill has told Gerrard’s ten new recruits to enjoy the ride, but they better be ready to join a club where second is nowhere. Hill said: “At Rangers a draw is viewed just like a defeat and that is tough to get your head around. Even after all the years I had been in the game, it was something new. “You can’t change the expectation and winning culture Rangers and their fans have. “They have been brought up on trophies and titles, so no manager can go in and say, ‘You need to calm down the expectations’. Hill says Gerrard’s new men will be expected to win every weekPA:Press Association “They are the most successful club in world football, so it is up to the players and staff to rise to that. “As soon as I heard of Rangers’ interest I couldn’t believe it, I thought it was a joke. I was on holiday when I got a call to say there was a chance and I was thinking, ‘I’m 37, these things don’t happen’. “I put the phone down and didn’t think about it, and then I got another call saying it was on. “Then I was told when I got home I had to get ready to fly to Glasgow. “I had a week left of my holiday with the family, but I couldn’t think of anything else other than Rangers. “We came back and I flew into Glasgow Airport, and there were photographers and TV crews waiting for me to arrive. RELATED STORIES IN OUR SIGHTS Greg Docherty ‘being targeted’ by Shrewsbury on loan amid Sunderland interest TEAR-NEY Celtic ace Kieran Tierney’s BT Sport billboard painted over in RANGERS colours Strike it Rich Goldson says listening to likes of Gough can only inspire Rangers “I used to watch the Old Firm games and I thought I knew how big Rangers were, but it took me a good few months to get my head around the place. Just the stature of it, the expectations, and the bubble that Glasgow is. “I struggled in the first few months, and I was eight or nine games in when I said to myself, ‘Nothing is going to change here — I have to change’. “I played for big clubs with 30,000 stadiums, and at places like Old Trafford, but Ibrox is unique. BIG INTERVIEW We expected McLeish or another big name.. then we got Pedro, says Clint Hill “It is 52,000 every other week and fans who are very vocal and passionate about their club. “Other places you can go out and walk down the street, not in Glasgow. Those things you maybe don’t think about it until you are living it.” Keep up to date with ALL the latest news, transfers and goals from Scottish football plus fixtures, results and live match commentary
Source: Scottish Sun, News
Source: Scottish Sun, News
