Ace Novo Charms His Way To Glory

Mar 2 2008 By Euan Mclean

NACHO NOVO reckons he could be Rangers' lucky charm in Europe after netting two golden goals that have earned the club a fortune.

The Spanish striker grabbed the vital strike against Red Star Belgrade back in August that sealed Gers' place in the Champions League group stages and guaranteed s10million.

But after being disappointed to miss most of that Euro adventure with a dislocated shoulder Novo performed more heroics when the Ibrox side parachuted into the UEFA Cup.

His late equaliser away to Panathinaikos last month edged Rangers into a last-16 showdown with Werder Bremen - and notched them another s2m, mostly from German TV.

Now Nacho hopes to enhance his growing reputation as Rangers' Euro golden boy and said: "I don't know if the European style has suited me better but I've been scoring a few goals and I'm happy. I managed it last year as well in Europe even when Paul Le Guen was here.

"It's maybe luck. It's important when I score big goals but I am not looking for individual praise.

"The performances of every player in this squad are the ones that matter. The team has been playing well and keep kicking on.

"Every side left in the UEFA Cup is hard and with Bremen second in the Bundesliga we know it will be a really tough game.

"But Panathinaikos were good as well and we got past them." It's a harsh reality for Novo that not even his recent scoring run - he came off the bench to grab two in the midweek thumping of Hearts - can guarantee him a starting place on Thursday.

With Jean-Claude Darcheville, Daniel Cousin and Kris Boyd all battling Novo for the lone strike role, competition is fierce.

But the advantage is that the men coming in are fresh and hungry to take their chance.

And Nacho believes the variety of options is preferable to relying on just one or two 20-goal strikers.

He said: "Every goal is crucial, that is the mentality of strikers.

"We have a big squad full of good players. When Daniel plays he scores, same with Boydie and Steven Naismith. Now Jean-Claude plays the first half against Hearts and scores two. So everything is coming good for us."