Olly's on guard

Last updated : 16 January 2004 By Mark O' Haire

After December's LDV clash, the Seagulls visit Loftus Road for the second time in two months and Rangers will be hoping to rack up their second victory against Mark McGhee's men.

A win would take Rangers 15 points ahead of the south coast side - a healthy cushion against one of our main promotion rivals.

But as far as Ollie is concerned, such issues matter little at this stage of the season. He wants a win to boost Rangers' chances and won't be worrying about where other teams are in the table.

"We need the points for ourselves," he told QPR World. "We can't be worrying about anybody else. Brighton will be there or therebouts at the end of the season whatever happens and there are an awful lot of points to play for."

Rangers' preparation has been hampered by injuries to key players, with Kevin McLeod joining Gareth Ainsworth and Tony Thorpe on the treatment table. But Ollie is still confident that the side he picks can do a job.

"We've lost Gareth and Macca who are two natural wide men - but we'll be solid and we should have enough quality to go forward and hurt their back line. We need to get in and about them."

Nevertheless, Ollie knows that there is plenty of hard to work still to be done this season if Rangers are to fulfil their dreams. He knows that there is a fine line between success and failure.

"I've got to make sure that I'm the realist and I know that we could have lost last weekend. But the lads showed great spirit and they must know that this is the minimum expected from them every week.

"I don't want our players to be complacent or think that we're already there. A lot of people will be very envious of our home record, but we've earned it and we've got to keep it going.

"Starting with Brighton at home we need some wins. We must work harder than them, play better them and beat them."