Rangers star ready to play title race hero role in teammate injury absence as he's wowed by superfan meeting
North Macedonian international helped turn the game in Rangers’ favour as they staged a thrilling second half comeback to beat Falkirk 6-3 on Sunday
Bullish Bojan Miovski is confident he can help fire Rangers to the Scottish Premiership title after spending much of his time at Ibrox as a reserve striker.
Danny Rohl’s rampant side kept the heat on leaders Hearts after a nine-goal thriller at Falkirk on Sunday, which moved them back within one point of the summit heading into the post-split fixtures.
Miovski has had to remain patient in his pursuit of game-time in recent months after falling behind Youssef Chermiti and January arrival Ryan Naderi in the pecking order for a starting berth. However, with Naderi now expected to miss the rest of the campaign through injury, the North Macedonian internationalist is ready to step up and seize his opportunity should it fall his way after bagging a second half brace in the 6-3 win over the Bairns.
“It’s competition, so every player needs to be ready,” Miovski admitted. “I came on second half and helped the team, which was good. I worked hard and when my chances came I was ready to take them.
“I’m always ready, work hard and wait for my chance. If I start or come on second half or play five minutes, I’m always ready to give my all. It doesn’t matter how many minutes I play. Every striker wants to score goals and win titles, so of course, I would like to help the team to win the title.
“It was nice to hear the fans sing my name. It gives me a lot of confidence and I’m here to help the team.”
Miovski: Rangers ‘stay calm’ after facing Falkirk adversity
Not for the first time this season, Rangers had to dig themselves out of a hole after conceding two goals inside the opening 30 minutes at the Falkirk Stadium.
However, they rallied to great effect after the restart, with the half-time introduction of Miovski proving the catalyst. And he insists the squad retained full belief in the dressing room that they could stage a comeback of epic proportions.
“In this kind of situation, you need to stay calm,” Miovski declared. “It’s still 45 minutes to play and, of course, we could turn the game around. We just had to stay calm. We saw what we did wrong in the first half and we created more chances in the second half and, of course, we score.
“It's not always easy when you change from grass (to astroturf) and the frustration and emotions are there. But we support each other, be positive and help our teammates. We have a big personality in the dressing room. We know how to manage these things. We are experienced guys.”
“The league is like a marathon, it’s not one game. Of course, you’re going to have ups and downs. The last game here (at Falkirk) was not good, but we’re now in a situation where we’re one point behind. Consistency is the key and in the last couple of games we’ve played really good. There was a lot of positive things.
“I think every player believes from day one (that we can win title). It’s not like now in this moment or in the last two games. We believe all the time, and it’s a big help that the fans are supporting us.”
Miovski not averse to forming new strike pairing for title run-in
Miovski formed a fruitful new-look strike partnership with Chermiti in the second half as both players combining to great success and notched doubles. It’s something the 26-year-old wouldn’t be averse to during the title run-in.
“Yeah, of course,” he replied when asked if he is equally comfortable playing up top with someone else rather than as a lone striker, as was the case for much of his previous spell in Scottish football at Aberdeen. “In my previous clubs, I played with two (strikers), and I played alone. So for me, it doesn’t really matter, I just want to play.
“Of course, it's helpful when you play with two strikers. It's like you have someone close to you who can help you. When you play alone, you are more weight in the box and have to wait for the wingers to arrive. But it's up to the coach to choose who he wants to start.”
Miovski on ‘amazing’ moment meeting Macedonian superfan
Last week, Miovski met a superfan who had made a 2,000 mile pilgrimage over from his Eastern Europe home to meet his hero - and was rewarded when the hitman scored the clinching goal against Dundee United.
Asked how special a moment that was, Miovski responded: “Yes, it's amazing. I really love my country and, of course, it's nice when you see people come from Macedonia and give you support. It's really nice and I made it special because I scored in that game.”
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