BY ALAN TEMPLE – @CCP_Sport
QUEEN OF THE SOUTH stalwart Derek Lyle is ready to make the most of a mouth-watering draw against Rangers in the Betfred Cup – after fearing he would never play at Ibrox again.
The 35-year-old assumed his trips to Govan were numbered following the Gers promotion last season, so was delighted to land the lucrative quarter-final clash after dumping Hibernian on Tuesday night.
Queens produced a virtuoso second-half at Easter Road to recover from a one-goal deficit and claim a shock 3-1 triumph in the capital, with goals from Stephen Dobbie, Grant Anderson and Lyndon Dykes doing the damage.
And, after emerging undefeated from fixtures against Dundee United and Hibs in their last two outings, Lyle is certain there will be no inferiority complex in Glasgow next month.
Lyle said: “The club will be delighted with the draw and, from a personal point of view, I can’t wait.
“They are a massive club who are back were they should rightly be – and I thought my time had come and gone to play at Ibrox again when they got back to the Premiership.
“It will be brilliant for our younger boys going there who haven’t experience what I expect will be a full house in a great stadium.
“If you don’t get one of the so-called lesser teams, they you want a trip to one of the big-two. We’ve got that and it is fantastic for the club. It is a bit down the line, but something we will look forward it.
“I’m sure Mark Warburton and his players will know from the previous seasons the they won’t get an easy game against ourselves. We will be going there aiming to get to the semi-final.
“They have brought some great players in, with [Joey] Barton and [Niko] Kranjcar, and it will be a big ask – but we have players who can hurt them, and we can go there and enjoy the experience while having a real go at them.”
