The Rangers question Kemar Roofe doesn't want to answer but grin tells the story as he's 'ready' to shoot down Celtic
Roofe is fit again and promises fans he's ready to be unleashed against Celtic this weekend.
He didn’t want to answer the question.
But the smile on Kemar Roofe’s face gave the game away. Despite Michael Beale splashing out more than £10million on Danilo, Cyriel Dessers and Sam Lammers, does Roofe regard himself as the club’s most deadly finisher? “No comment,” he says, beaming from ear to ear.
It’s clear that he believes he is. And he’s aiming to prove it against Celtic at Ibrox. After everything Roofe has been through in terms of injuries, it’s just good to see him happy again. Last season was a write-off and his Rangers career looked to be in serious jeopardy. But the 30-year-old is back fit and firing again. According to his gaffer, no one else in the squad could have scored the comeback goal Roofe got at Ross County last week.
And with the new recruits still finding their feet, there’s certainly an argument to say he’s Beale’s best bet up front. The Jamaica international looks hungry again, just like he was under Steven Gerrard when playing a key role in Gers’ 55th title success. And if it’s true that he remains Rangers’ biggest threat, he says it’s not down to any of the top managers he has worked with.
Instead, he traces it back to shooting practice with dad Glenn when he was a kid. Ahead of today’s Old Firm showdown, Roofe said: “What I’d say is that I’ve put a lot of work in through the years, starting with my dad and brother down the park.
“We’d work on my shooting and finishing all the time. I’d see my friends in the park who were playing football or on their bikes. But they were having a different type of fun to me.
“I was down the park for business. Getting the work in. My friends would just be there watching us. Naturally you want to play with them rather than grinding but I have to thank my dad for that.
“As a father I know that putting that time in with your kid is hard, especially when you have a job. But he did that. So for me, it all comes from him. And now that I’m fully fit and getting my match sharpness up, I can show people what I can do.
“That’s where it all came from. I’ve worked with good managers and coaches – we’ve got one here because the gaffer is top. But they haven’t taught me what my dad did back then. And it’s something I will never lose. I must thank him for what I’ve achieved and what I can do.”
Unfortunately for Roofe, what he has wanted to do as a striker and what his body will allow him to have been vastly different in the last 18 months. Fans were getting frustrated at constant issues with his calf. But the former Leeds and Anderlecht star – brought to Ibrox for £4 million by Gerrard – has revealed that he required a hip operation for YEARS.
Roofe finally went under the knife and, after an intense rehab in Qatar, is now pain free. He said: “I’m feeling as good as I have in a long time.
“My body is finally working and I can do stuff I couldn’t do before. A lot of the time I was just using my desire to get through. I would tell coaches and physios I was fine when I probably wasn’t. I just wanted to play. But now I can finally wake up and think: ‘Yeah, I feel good.’
“I needed a hip operation that I had always put off. Unless I literally couldn’t kick a ball, I wasn’t going to get it done. Most people didn’t even know I had a hip injury. But it’s finally sorted now.
“I went to Aspatar in Qatar for my rehab and got a programme that I still do to this day. I had known about it for many years. But as a player you don’t want to take time out. I’m here to win.
“I’ve had different injuries but it was the secondary effect of my hip. I only played five or six times last season and wasn’t really going anywhere so it was time to get it done. I’d had enough of pushing myself physically and mentally to keep breaking down.
“It’s a relief because I don’t have to worry now about what might go wrong. I can do what I want to do. Before, in my head I wanted to do things but my body couldn’t.
“That was sometimes the main battle I had during games. Now I’m fit and ready to go. It’s a massive game on Sunday and I’m looking forward to it.” Unlike the other Rangers front men, Roofe isn’t new to this fixture.
He scored a double against Celtic two years ago at Ibrox en route to their title triumph in a 4-1 win. But there’s a big difference this time, in that there will be 50,000 Rangers supporters inside the stadium this afternoon. Back then, in the midst of the Covid pandemic, Roofe’s goals were celebrated in silence.
That won’t be the case if he finds the net on Sunday. He said: “I will never forget those goals but it’s different without a crowd there.
“It would mean a lot more to be able to celebrate with the fans. But all we need to worry about is winning. It doesn’t matter who scores or how it goes in.”