ROSS MCCRORIE says that Rangers are determined to give their loyal supporters the reward they deserve by knocking Celtic out of the Scottish Cup at Hampden next week.

The young defender returned to the bench in last weekend’s draw against Motherwell as he stepped up his recovery from a foot injury that has kept him on the sidelines for the last four months, and he is hoping to get some game-time against Dundee this weekend so that he will be fighting fit come the semi-final showdown against their great rivals at Hampden.

He was forced to watch the last Old Firm game from the stands, although that was not a new experience for the 20-year-old, given that he is a lifelong Rangers fan. As such, he knows just how much a Rangers win would mean to their supporters, especially after the recent meagre returns they have received as thanks for their unwavering backing.

“There’s always a huge incentive when you play Celtic, it’s always right up there,” McCrorie said.

“Obviously, nobody wants to lose those types of games, and this one is even bigger because it is the semi-final of the Scottish Cup and the chance at a trophy as well.

“Especially being a fan, it would be great. We’ve not won the Scottish Cup since 2009, and Celtic have been winning the league, so I’d love to give the fans a trophy. They deserve it.

“They give us their support and 50,000 come out every second week for home games. They’ve been truly amazing.”

McCrorie has his own good and bad experiences of watching the Old Firm derby, and having sat through the recent loss to 10-man Celtic at Ibrox, he knows which feeling he would prefer the Rangers supporters to have as they leave Hampden next Sunday.

“There were a lot of ups and downs [in the last Old Firm game],” he said. “I thought we were going to get the victory, but it didn’t happen. We will see what happens in the next couple of games against Celtic.

“I’ve been to a couple of Old Firm games before at Ibrox so I knew what it was like. And I was also at Hampden when we won and Barrie MacKay scored that screamer.

“It was a great experience. As a Rangers fan, Celtic are your biggest rivals and it was amazing to get the victory. Hopefully we can have more days like that.

“Every single Rangers fan was fair chuffed that day, put it like that. They deserve a lot more than what we have been showing on the pitch. Hopefully we can give them it. A lot of anger came out too. Hopefully there are many more victories to come.

“Winning the Scottish Cup was our target and that’s what we are aiming for.”

The other target for Rangers this season, as much as McCrorie doesn’t want to accept it, is making sure they at least secure second place in the Premiership with Celtic dead-certs to wrap up the title in the next few weeks.

That means getting their league form back on track this weekend in the home match against Dundee, after three league games without a win.

“We will see what happens this weekend but it’s a critical point in the season and every game will be like a cup final,” he said.

“The last two games have been disappointing, and we’ll be looking to put that right and come out all guns blazing against Dundee.

“It will be tough, and Dundee will be on a high after their midweek result at Celtic Park, but we need to get back on track and make sure we get second place, so we’ll be looking for the victory.

“We just look at every game and try to get three points in every game. That’s what we should be doing. Obviously, right now that’s not happening, but hopefully things will pick up soon.

“At a club like Rangers we should be looking to win everything, but right now, second is the bare minimum.”

*Ross McCrorie was speaking as he helped mark the first year of Broxi's Den, a facility that helps supporters with complex learning difficulties and sensory challenges such as autism enjoy matches at Ibrox.