Upfront Vaclav Cerny admits he woke up in a cold sweat after suffering flashbacks to his horror misses against Malmo and Lyon.
As a new dad, the Rangers ace might not be sleeping soundly just yet. But the Czech international hopes he’s at last found a little peace of mind after banishing those Europa League sitters to the past with his slick St Johnstone double.
It’s been a rollercoaster start for Cerny since joining Gers on a year-long loan from Wolfsburg. The 26-year-old had the fans purring when he marked his first start against Motherwell with a sublime strike. But they’ve been roaring with frustration of late having seen the winger blew golden chances to add to his tally.
Clean through on goal in Sweden, he fired wide as Philippe Clement’s team were forced to leave it late before sealing a 2-0 win over Malmo. His failure to bury the ball into a gaping goal early against last week’s French opponents proved far more costly, however, with Lyon going on to register a 4-1 hammering at Ibrox.
Cerny has got enough on his hands at home helping partner Denisa Kokorova deal with their new six-month old tot Ella.
But he admits he’s had his rest disturbed by memories of those misses playing on repeat in his mind.
Speaking after netting his Saints brace, he said: “In the end, for me, Sunday was more like a mental thing, to get through it. Obviously, those big chances, I woke up in the night like, ‘oh, I shouldn’t miss those.’ So it helps for a striker, for a winger, to make those two goals after such a tough period.
“So I’m very glad I could do that on Sunday. I think when you win 2-0 and you score two goals, that’s major for the team, and that’s obviously what matters the most. It’s a clean sheet, it’s a 2-0 win, and that’s all that matters. Will I sleep easier tonight? I don’t know, the baby decides!”
Cerny helped get Gers going as stubborn Saints tried to suffocate the space round their box. It took deft turn and classy left-foot finish from Cerny to find a breakthrough.
He doubled Rangers’ lead after the break as he was picked out by returning playmaker Ianis Hagi. Twisting his way past Lewis Neilson, it was another tidy strike on his right that secured the points and made amends for his Euro woes.
Cerny knows it would have been easy for Clement to sit him out after his Lyon mishap but he was grateful for his boss’ backing after a heart-to-heart chat with the Belgian gaffer.
He said: “Yeah we had a long talk and he helped me a lot, I’m not going to deny that. For me, it’s all about giving this trust he has in me back, but also back to the guys, because in the past weeks I’ve missed big chances.
“I still try to play my best game I can to give it to the team, but obviously I’m here to be decisive, assist goals and I know that.
“It’s been tough for me, but I think this is the best answer possible. So, appreciation from my side, for the trust and everything from the gaffer, and let’s go from here.”
Cerny is still getting used to the unique pressure levels involved at Ibrox.
The former Ajax ace let his own frustrations show during last week’s win over Hibs when he lashed out at the punters in the West Enclosure after they jeered his decision not to take a run at his full-back.
And he opted to block out the online noise when he shut down his instagram account last week having been subjected to another round of social media stick following his Lyon miss.
But he certainly isn’t blaming the Ibrox faithful for placing high demands on their team.
“As I said, it’s been tough for someone like me, who is always willing to give my all, and sometimes I show it too much, as we all saw [against Hibs],” he explained. But that’s just me. I want to do as best as I can every single time and once you guys get to know me a bit better, you will see that.
“This was my bad reaction, it’s alright, it’s in the past, but it’s because I want to help as much as I can. From my side, I have no message for the supporters. They have all the rights, but from my point of view, to support.
“I think I will speak for everyone, we all want to give our best every single time, and I think sometimes we don’t realise it.
“It’s our job to do the football part, but believe me, we all want to give our all every single time.”
Cerny has only been in Glasgow for 10 weeks but he’s not using that as an excuse.
“Trying to settle in to a new city is tough but in the end, I don’t care if anybody understands or not, it’s part of the game, and it’s your choice to join the club, and it’s your job to be ready as soon as possible,” he said.
“I wasn’t struggling in the beginning, obviously, and so that’s on me, all of that.
“But in the end, you’ve got a family, you need to settle in.
“It’s not only you playing football, that’s not important now, but in the end, it’s about how you react to things, and I think Sunday was a good reaction, and I want to build on this.
“I’ve scored three goals now, but it could have been six already.
“I’m just showing you how I’m thinking, so I always demand the best from me, and those two chances I’ve missed were big ones, and I know that.
“But it’s in the past, so it’s three now, and let’s go on.”