KRIS BOYD is determined to leave Rangers boss Walter Smith with no option but to keep him in his team after netting a double against Kilmarnock in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.
Rangers headed into the break trailing to a Frazer Wright goal after just nine minutes but Boyd came to the rescue for the Ibrox club, converting from the penalty spot and claiming his second just four minutes later.
Those goals propelled Smith's
men three points clear at the summit of the SPL just hours after rivals Celtic returned to winning ways with a victory at Motherwell.
And Boyd was thrilled to hand out another reminder to Smith of exactly what he can bring to the team despite criticism of his work rate.
"I want to build on that and, if I keep scoring, I'm going to stay in the team," he said.
"The gaffer has showed that he is playing 4-4-2 now and hopefully I can stay a part of the two up front."
Boyd has started four out of five SPL games this season but missed out on the 4-2 Old Firm derby win at Celtic Park and is keen to ensure he does not sit out any more big games.
He added: "I want to play in every game that I can and I was obviously disappointed to miss out on an Old Firm game.
"But I can't have any complaints if the team wins. It's up to me to get my head down, work hard and get back in the team.
"That's what I've done and I've managed to get two goals."
Boyd had no complaints about being taken off with less than ten minutes to go against Killie, denying him the opportunity to try to claim a hat-trick.
The striker came off the bench in Macedonia for Scotland last Saturday before travelling to Iceland four days later and admits the international break took its toll on himself and the rest of his Rangers club-mates. "I was a bit tired to be fair, I've not played in four weeks," he said. "Things probably needed a bit of freshening up and the gaffer has done that.
"It showed in the way we started the game. DaMarcus Beasley has been around the world in seven days. He was a bit unlucky with a couple of things in the first half and there were a few others.
"Even if you don't play for your country, you still feel the effects of the travelling and lying about and not doing anything for ten days. We were disappointed to go in 1-0 down at half-time and we came out and got two quick goals and got ourselves ahead. It gave us something to hang onto because all credit to Kilmarnock, they had a go and put us under a bit of pressure for good spells in the 90 minutes."
The full article contains 495 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
