Rangers fan Josh Rock hopes to have major backing at the Hydro in Glasgow with Celtic fans absent for the Europa League as he faces Luke Humphries in Night Three of the Premier League
Rangers supporter Josh Rock is hoping for significant backing at the Hydro, with Celtic fans likely to be absent due to Europa League commitments.
The Ibrox-supporting darts star is aiming to spark a Premier League run in Glasgow similar to Danny Rohl’s impact in the Premiership.
Rock is among the stars competing in Scotland for Night Three of the BetMGM Premier League, where he’ll face Luke Humphries in the quarter-finals.
The Northern Irish player makes no attempt to hide his allegiance to Rangers and has attended several matches this season. Rock acknowledges this could create a divided atmosphere in the venue, but joked: “Yeah, probably. Luckily Celtic’s playing in the Europa League, so hopefully they’re all out and there’s all Rangers fans in!”
Without a Scottish competitor in the tournament, Rock may benefit from additional crowd support, though he’s not feeling the weight of expectation, saying: “I wouldn’t say it’ll add more pressure. I really hope so. What was it, two, three years since the last Scottish person was in it?”
“I’m close to Scotland. Literally a two-hour boat or a quick flight over, so I would love it to happen, but obviously I don’t know what to expect from the crowd,” reports the Daily Record.
The World Cup champion has also confirmed he’ll be keeping his walk-on music for the evening. Austrian player Mensur Suljovic previously abandoned Simply The Best whilst playing in Scotland, but Rock is maintaining his entrance with Welcome to the Party by DJ Krissy, a track which was embraced by Rangers supporters during Steven Gerrard’s tenure as manager.
He stated: “No, no. Still normal walk-on. I’m not going to change at all now because my kids love my walk-on song, so I’m not going to change it.”
Darts remains Rock’s primary focus, and he’s determined to regain control after experiencing grip issues with his arrows during last week’s competition in Antwerp.
He revealed: “I went to the toilet just before I went up on stage and, whatever soap they had, obviously, you wash your hands after you’ve gone to the toilet.
“So I put it on my hands and then when I got up there, I just could not feel it at all. So now we’ve got a Plan B, we’ve got a bit of chalk and wax in my case from now on.
“I didn’t have to use it this week in the Players’ Championship, so it was fine, but it must have been the soap I used. I was just trying my best to get a grip and it just didn’t happen.
“No matter how much I was trying to lick my fingers, rub my finger up and down my barrel to get my fingers roughened, that wasn’t working. It just took all the oils out of my finger and lost all grip.”