Brown Spots Progress

Last updated : 11 February 2016 By ed_Scottishfitba

C:WindowsTempphp613C.tmpJohn 'Bomber' Brown has been vocal on the off the field activities at Ibrox in the past but he can see some progress on the field and has been impressed by the central defenders manager mark Warburton has utilised this season. A combination of any two from three Rob Kiernan, Danny Wilson and Dominic Ball have been involved, with Kiernan and Wilson forming the most recent partnership with Ball sitting just in front of them as a defensive midfielder as Rangers have kept four clean sheets in a row.

Brown said of Kiernan: "He’s come up here and had to create new partnerships. It’s a new defence and goalkeeper, and it takes time, but Kiernan has been solid and has been reliable. He’s probably been the pick of the central defenders up until now this season. We know Danny’s past though with him having played with Davie Weir at the back before he went to Liverpool, and then he captained Hearts last season, so he’s built on that experience. Ball coming in has impressed, and he’s getting regular games which is a big plus for the club, and there is the option to play him in midfield too."

While the defence appears to be on the right track, Brown is more concerned by the lack of goals for in recent games. Last Saturday saw  a 0-0 draw against Kilmarnock in the Scottish Cup, meaning the two sides will meet again this Tuesday at Rugby Park. While pleased with a clean sheet, the manner in which the goals have dried up –  four in the last four games – will have concerned manager Warburton, although Brown believes the manager will still be able to take some positives from the draw.

Brown went on: "We got into so many good areas without ever really having too many clear-cut chances. We were playing a Premiership side though, and that will have told Mark (Warburton) just how far on with his squad he is. You’re talking about a team coming to Ibrox which has been struggling, and they have sat in and hit on the counter, so Mark will have learned a lot from that and hopefully he will have seen a few chinks in their armour that we can expose on Tuesday. Hopefully we will get through and set-up a home tie in the next round. Alloa have one of the oldest astro surfaces, it has been well used and from my experience there in the time I had at Dundee, it is a slow pitch, but Rangers won there comfortably earlier in the season with our style of football, and I would hope we can continue that and set it up for Tuesday night."