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MANAGER Paul Hartley spoke to the media from Balmoral Stadium to preview Sunday’s Scottish Cup third round tie against Rangers at Ibrox Stadium.

The match is being screened live on Premier Sports, with a 6.30pm kick-off.

ON THE CUP-TIE AT IBROX

It’s the biggest game in the club’s history but one we are all looking forward to. We know it’s going to be difficult.

They are the best team in the country and were outstanding in Europe this season. I’ve seen Rangers a number of times and they have real quality throughout their team.

Steven Gerrard has put an excellent squad together over the last two to three years.

They have an impressive style of play too. They play with a lot of speed and aggression, so it will be tough.

We have to go there and enjoy it and we will only really do that with the right result.

We are up against it, but we will go there with a game plan aimed at putting in a good performance and seeing where that takes us.

We want to do ourselves and our club proud. The only disappointing thing is there will be no crowd there.

Not so much for myself, but for my players. I’ve played there in front of capacity crowds and been there as a manager.

It’s a shame the players won’t get the chance to experience the thrill of playing in front of a big crowd at Ibrox. It will still be enjoyable, especially for those who haven’t played at Ibrox before.

My biggest problem is I’ve got to try and pick the right team and also do the same again 48 hours later because we also have an important league match against Clyde.

It means one or two players might be disappointed on Sunday but they accept I’ve got to have one eye on Tuesday too.

Whichever team we pick we will be going out there to try and play the right way. We know it will be hard work and we won’t get as much possession as we get in other games.

It will come down to keeping our shape, being disciplined and well organised and having a go as best as we can. We are a possession based team, so when we do get the opportunity we have to make sure we do something positive with the ball.

If we are confident and brave when we do have the ball we are capable of making it difficult for them.

ON HIS FIRST COMPETITIVE MEETING WITH RANGERS MANAGER STEVEN GERRARD

I don’t know him but I’m certainly looking forward to coming up against Steven and his team.

Hopefully I will be able to have a good chat with him at some stage because I really like the way they play.

I’ve come up against Gary McAllister (the Rangers assistant manager) a few times with Scotland – including when I was at the Euro 96 finals as a young hamper boy.

Gary also took a couple of training sessions when Walter (Smith) was the national manager so it will good to catch up with him again.

You want to pit your wits against the best and I want to try and pick a team that can do well against them.

These are the sort of games you live for as a manager.

ON COPING WITH THE PROTOCOLS IN PLACE TO ENSURE WE COULD GET BACK TO PLAYING 

The testing has gone okay, the lads are used to it.

It’s hard for part-time players to actually be in a bubble though because of their jobs, their partner or wive’s jobs and for some their children being at school.

After every test I have my fingers crossed they come back negative and we have been fortunate so far.

What a manager at any club can hope for is that everyone stays healthy and so far we have been fine on that front.

I’ve had close to a full squad to pick from so we have been able to get on with doing the best we can.

It has cost a lot of money and resources so I have to say the chairman and the club have been outstanding in terms of making sure we follow all the necessary protocols.

That includes how we actually get to away games now. We are having to take two 60 seater buses, with only eight players allowed on each.

We also have staff and coaches travelling in their own cars just to make sure we get things right.

It’s incredible how much the club have committed to ensuring everyone remains as safe as they can possibly be and it has been appreciated by myself and the players.

ON THE NEWS BOTH SETS OF FANS HAVE BACKED THE VIRTUAL TICKET INITIATIVE WE LAUNCHED, WITH THE SUPPORT OF RANGERS

It’s great both sets of fans are doing what they can to help us. These are difficult times because there’s no money coming through the club at all.

There’s nobody coming through the gates, no corporate guests or money being raised through hospitality on match days.

The directors had to find a way to increase revenue and the virtual ticket initiative is a great idea. They have thought out of the box and come up with something a little different.

If we had gone to Ibrox at any other time it would have earned our club a lot of money. It’s shame a club of our size has missed out on that on this occasion.

It’s hard on the directors, the chairman and the club, who have already invested a lot of time and money to help get us back playing and to where we are now.

I can only thank those fans who have backed the scheme so far – hopefully there will be a few more before the tie is played.

To get involved in the #NothingWithoutFans initiative click here: https://bit.ly/31DjAs8

Match Report | Rangers 4-0 CRFC »