Adam Le Fondre relishes Rangers challenge as Hibs star insists he is used to 'vitriol' and KIDS swearing at him

Adam Le Fondre reckons he’s ready for the intimidating atmosphere of Ibrox - after watching dads high five their kids for abusing him at Millwall.

The Hibs striker is relishing the prospect of facing Rangers in their own back yard this afternoon. Games against the Light Blues and Celtic were a big part of the reason he came back from Australia to sample Scottish football. He has watched enough matches from Ibrox over the years to get an idea of what he and his Hibs team-mates will face today, and he cannot wait. And the hostility won’t be anything new for the experienced marksman.

He insists facing Millwall and West Ham away from home during his years down south was an experience that will live with him forever. Particularly the day he scored a late winner for Reading in a 2-1 victory over Millwall - and instantly regretted his celebration aimed at the home fans that had abused him earlier.

He said: “Millwall or West Ham, when they were at Upton Park, both of them were really intimidating places. When I first moved to Reading, we played Millwall away and I was on the bench.

“As you can imagine, warming up down the side of the pitch, being small, I was getting abused. I won’t repeat what they were saying, obviously, but I was getting a hell of a lot of abuse. I turned round to see who was giving me it – and it was little kids. There are these 12-year-olds giving me abuse and their dads are high-fiving them! I just thought, ‘oh my God …’

“I managed to score in the game, the winner, and I ran down the touchline gesturing at them to shut up. And then I thought, ‘why have I done that? They’re going to batter me!’

“That was really the most hostile, the most vitriol and spew being thrown at you. And West Ham was similar.” But,