Walt had a word to the Weiss

[ian1964 10,372]

VLADIMIR WEISS talked the talk with Walter Smith.

 

Then he walked the walk against Motherwell.

 

Now he aims to do the same against Celtic.

 

Rangers' on-loan wide boy from Manchester City was absolutely outstanding in the 4-1 victory at Motherwell.

 

Scoring one wonder goal and setting up another two, Weiss was the shining light in a team bursting with stars.

 

He picked up a bottle of champagne as the sponsor's Man of the Match.

 

But Weiss insists it wouldn't have been possible without the heart-to-heart he had with boss Smith last week.

 

Disappointed with the way his season was going, he knocked on the manager's door and asked for a quiet word.

 

Smith threw his arm around the confidence-sapped star.

 

Weiss is now desperate to repay the faith the Ibrox gaffer has shown in him by starting against Celtic in the title crunch next week.

 

Weiss said: "I wanted to score my third goal of the season and I am happy it came against Motherwell.

 

"After they scored it was really important to get the third goal and get the game back on our side again.

 

"It didn't matter if it was a tap-in or whatever, because the team performance is all that matters. And we were brilliant.

 

"But from a personal point of view, I think that was my best performance for Rangers.

 

"I know I haven't been doing well in the last few games and I spoke to the manager and had a good chat with him last week.

 

"I have not been creating enough, but this has been my first season where I have been playing week in, week out.

 

"I went to see him and it worked from both sides.

 

"I have not been happy with myself and I wanted to get in there.

 

"The manager has got great experience and I knew he could help me.

 

"That was why I went to see him. The chat really helped to boost my confidence.

 

"The manager spoke to me and told me what to do and just to go out and run at defenders.

 

"I have been working hard in training and I am really happy he gave me a second chance and I was able to impress him.

 

"Now I have to do it every week. If I am not playing well the confidence is not as high.

 

"I tried not to think about things. I just tried to get out there and run at defenders and after two or three runs it got my confidence up. Then I just enjoyed the game.

 

"I don't think there is pressure in football - it was just the confidence.

 

"If you are not doing well and you are not happy with yourself then you don't enjoy the games the same.

 

"After I spoke to the gaffer everything really changed and he told me he believes in me and that really helped me.

 

"I just went out to show him I could do better than I had previously shown.

 

"I did not start at Celtic Park and I am going to do my best against St Johnstone on Wednesday to keep my place in the team.

 

"Hopefully I can do the same against them as I did against Motherwell."

 

Rangers produced arguably their best performance of the season with Weiss contributing just one of a number of top-class displays.

 

Steven Naismith was excellent before he pulled up with a hamstring injury, while Steven Whittaker, Steven Davis and Kenny Miller were all outstanding as Gers enjoyed a terrific win. Smith's side clearly mean business at this crucial part of the season.

 

Weiss added: "After the break we've had, we were glad to get out there and impress everybody.

 

"We have been working hard in training and I think we really deserved the win.

 

"The manager didn't say anything personally to me after the game.

 

"He was really pleased with the performance because over the last three games we haven't been doing that well.

 

"But we started the game differently here and we had the game in total control over the 90 minutes.

 

"We need to win the game on Wednesday and then all eyes will be on Sunday.

 

"We want to win every game, but we know this one is going to be really important for us."

 

Next week's Old Firm showdown is the one supporters of both clubs can't wait for.

 

But Weiss insists St Johnstone in Perth on Wednesday is equally important.

 

He added: "We need to get a good rest and recovery and be ready for Wednesday.

 

"Hopefully we can get three points and if we could win at the weekend then, hopefully, we could be five points clear or more.

 

"It could be important, but I still think it is too early to talk about things.

 

"If we can win our next two games and our game in hand then we could go eight points clear and that could go a long way towards winning the league.

 

"We just need to concentrate on Wednesday and then we can see what happens from there."

 

 

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