Stuart Kettlewell says Kilmarnock would be naive to underestimate struggling Rangers in Premiership clash

Stuart Kettlewell says his Kilmarnock side are expecting the best version of Rangers when they travel to Ibrox at the weekend.

The Ayrshire side will be in Glasgow to take on Danny Rohl’s men in Premiership action on Sunday.

Killie go into the game a point ahead of their hosts after eight league fixtures, but Kettlewell insists they would be naive to underestimate a team who he believes is packed with top quality players, despite a disappointing start to the season.

And the Rugby Park boss told his players that they risk “getting a smack in the face” if they expect anything less than a tough game.

Rangers suffered their latest defeat on Thursday night with a 3-0 loss to SK Brann in Norway which leaves them rock bottom of the Europa League after three games.

That led to “raging” captain James Tavernier giving a scathing evaluation of a performance that he described as “disgraceful”.

And speaking to the media on Friday, Kettlewell said: “I think their own captain’s entitled to that, when you’ve done what he’s done at the football club and you’ve been there as long as he has been.

“I’m a massive fan of James Tavernier, I have been for many, many years, so I’ll always show the utmost respect.

“He’s entitled to speak that way and he’s entitled to say the words that he did. I’m not, because I’ve not played, coached or managed for Rangers.

“So again, I always talk about walking in the shoes. He’ll understand the standards expected.

“So from that point of view, I’ll analyse the performance and how they played, but I’ll not pass comment about what I thought about it or starting to give clear description of what other people may or may not think.

“I get this narrative at the minute that everybody’s jumping on the bandwagon, people will be talking about that result not being good enough last night.

“But again, when you start to look at it closely, there are a lot of good players in that Rangers squad.

“There’s been heavy investment to make sure that they bring in what they feel are top players and guys that can really flourish at the football club.

“So I suppose from my side, I get and acknowledge that it’s not been the start in performances at Rangers supporters, staff or players would be expecting.

“But I’m also the guy that really expects the best version of them on Sunday.

“And I think if you go there imagining something different, you’re very, very naive and sometimes I think that’s where you can get a smack in the face.”

Kilmarnock also announced the signing of striker Tyreece John-Jules from Crawley Town on a short-term deal, pending approval, on Friday.

The Arsenal academy product joins until January and has had loan spells at a number of clubs in England including Sheffield Wednesday, Ipswich and Derby.

The 24-year-old has been capped through all the England national team age groups up to Under-21s.

John-Jules, signed as a replacement for Djenairo Daniels who will be out long term after knee surgery, will be eligible for selection on Sunday.