LYLE: FORM MAKES US FAVOURITES

MOST teams are desperate to be regarded as underdogs in games of the magnitude of Saturday’s Premiership play-off quarter-final. But although Rangers are the opponents, Queen of the South striker Derek Lyle admits the form book has the Palmerston side as favourites. For the 34-year-old forward, the realisation that his team were being tipped to triumph came when Andy Goram — a former Queens team-mate — became the latest pundit to back them to beat Rangers and reach the top flight. While Lyle would prefer the Ibrox side to go into the match in their customary role as favourites, he believes the big-game specialists can add to their 2-0 and 3-0 victories over Rangers already this season. ‘You would rather be going into the matches without any pressure on you, but people are now saying we are slight favourites to beat Rangers,’ conceded Lyle. ‘We wanted to be underdogs and surprise them, so that’s not been great for us. But every time you pick up a paper, everyone seems to be tipping us to beat Rangers. ‘We have to take it as a compliment. It shows that everyone knows how well Queens have done this season and how good a squad we have here. ‘Rangers are a massive club but we have shown twice this season that we can beat them, so we really want a win to take to Ibrox. ‘Rangers won’t enjoy coming to our place. I think we’ll need a lead to take to Ibrox and, hopefully, we can get one on Saturday.’ While much has been made of Rangers’ dislike of playing on artificial surfaces, Lyle believes their biggest bugbear will be the fact that they have not yet scored at Palmerston this season — not the condition of the park. ‘Rangers have not replied in those games,’ he argued. ‘I don’t know what their players will be thinking, or what their mental state will be like coming to a place where they’ve not scored. Maybe it will be in the back of their minds. ‘But, for us, it’s just about going out and trying to get a lead to take to Ibrox. I don’t know if our previous wins over them give us a mental edge but they do give us confidence to know that we can do it again. ‘It’s an absolutely massive game for Rangers — no doubt about it. Their fans will expect them to go through, while we can go into the game with no fear. ‘Our boys are all level headed. There are no Big Time Charlies in our dressing room and that shows in our performances. We go about our business quietly and we keep ourselves ticking over. We won’t get carried away by being in the play-offs against Rangers. It will be business as usual for everyone at the club. ‘It’s been quite a long time since Queen of the South were in the top flight of Scottish football. But if we beat Rangers, then who’s to say we can’t go all the way?’