Rangers striker Kris Boyd opens his heart on failed season

Kris Boyd has admitted his season has been a complete disaster.

He was expected to fire Rangers back into the Premiership when he joined the club for a second time last summer.

All he’s been firing are blanks, however, and the striker is as surprised as anyone that goals have been so hard to come by.

In a remarkably honest review of his campaign so far, the 31-year-old confessed that he has been tortured by his failure in front of goal.

But he refuses to look for any excuses, and is determined to win a new contract at Ibrox by recovering his scoring touch.

Boyd made a start with what proved to be the winner against Raith Rovers on Friday night.

He insisted: “It would be easy for me to blame other things, but I know myself that my performances haven’t been good enough.

“At the start of the season, I was playing regularly and missing a few chances.

“I couldn’t be critical of anyone for not giving me the opportunity. It was there, I played plenty of minutes and I hadn’t taken my chances.

“So when it came to my turn to be left out of the team, I could have no complaints.”

Boyd is very aware that his shortcomings in front of goal have been a massive disappointment to the beleaguered Rangers fans.

At one time, he would have shrugged off the failure. But this older, wiser player shares their hurt.

He went on: “In years gone past, I wouldn’t have let it bother me. But this year it has, just because I have probably felt myself missing more chances than I usually do.

“Why is that? I don’t know. I’m still scoring goals in training, I still feel sharp enough.

“Strikers do go through spells where they are not scoring, but for me the whole season has been frustrating.

“I wouldn’t say it is water off a duck’s back any more, because I have started to analyse things and see where I am going wrong.”

The former Scotland hitman ponders the suggestion that he might be over-analysing his performances.

He admits that’s a possibility, and is considering a return to the instinctive approach that made him the SPL’s all-time leading goalscorer.

He said: “There is more coverage of games now, and I look at things like the header I missed against Hibs a week past Friday.

“Could it be that if I had started my run earlier or got away from my defender quicker I would have been able to meet the header full on rather than stretching to get it?

“In football those one or two seconds make the difference.

“I am never going to be the fastest player in the world, but what I do have is a knack for getting away from people inside the 18-yard box.

“That night I was looking for a get-out clause.

“Previously, I would just get on with it, and say: ‘Next week I will get another couple of chances and probably score’.

“Maybe I need to just go back to that.”

Like so many of the Rangers players, Boyd faces an uncertain future. He confesses that he turned down the offer of a two-year contract last year, opting to sign for just 12 months.

He went on: “I was offered a two-year deal, and I politely declined. I felt that, if I wasn’t doing my job, it would be best for me to let youngsters come through.

“Right now, I am not in any position to go to anyone and say: ‘What’s happening for next year?’ because that’s pretty much a wasted conversation.”