No need for World Cup hopeful DaMarcus Beasley to quit Rangers, says Walter Smith

Published on Wednesday 16 December 2009 15:05

WALTER Smith has told DaMarcus Beasley there is now no need for him to leave Rangers to realise his World Cup dream.

• Beasley celebrates after his goal at Tannadice last night

Beasley last week revealed he was considering quitting Ibrox next month because he feared his lack of match action would cost him his place in the United States squad.

But Smith insists the midfielder will be guaranteed to start for Rangers if he maintains the kind of form which helped them reclaim top spot in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League at Dundee United last night.

Beasley got the ball running on an emphatic 3-0 win with a stunning goal – his first since the 2008 Scottish Cup final – as well as laying on the visitors' third.

He has now started Rangers' last three matches and Smith believes the 27-year-old can be a mainstay of the side for the rest of the season.

"DaMarcus is playing very well for us at the moment and scored a terrific goal at Tannadice," Smith told his club's official website.

"After coming back from his serious knee problem, he has had things go wrong with his hamstring and his groin.

"In the last two or three months, he has settled down and looked sharper in training. He's obviously now playing well in games too.

"The lad's comments before were quite simple. He said he had to try to get games so that he could be included in the World Cup.

"That's an acceptable factor because he wasn't getting a regular game here but that wasn't always due to the fact he wasn't getting picked.

"Sometimes he wasn't available but he is now and there's no reason for him to move. I don't think so anyway as long as he is getting an opportunity.

"DaMarcus has enough experience and enough caps that if he does play, he'll be in with a very good chance of being selected for the USA's squad."

Hoping to join Beasley – who already has two World Cups under his belt – in South Africa is Ibrox team-mate Maurice Edu, for whom next summer's finals would be his first.

The 23-year-old is on the brink of making his long-awaited return from summer knee surgery and he is determined to play a major role in the second half of the season for both club and country.

Edu cannot wait for the World Cup, which threw up a draw which sees the United States play England and Algeria.

The latter game could see Beasley and Edu square off against team-mate Madjid Bougherra.

Edu said: "I sent Madjid a text after we were drawn together and he was excited because he had wanted that to happen, so we had some joking back and forward.

"It was fun because the whole week leading up to it, he had been telling me 'I want to play the USA'.

"Once it was drawn that way, we were in touch straight away and it will definitely make for some fun in the build-up."

He added: "It was funny the way things worked out because I was interviewed the day before the draw and was asked which teams I would like to get.

"I had said England and, of course, Algeria because of Madjid, and those were the first two teams to come out, so it should definitely be an interesting summer."

Meanwhile, fellow midfielder Lee McCulloch faces suspension for the new year Old Firm derby if he picks up a booking in Saturday's game with Motherwell following last night's yellow card at Tannadice.

Celtic's Aiden McGeady is also walking a disciplinary tightrope for the January 3 fixture, with both players three disciplinary points away from a ban.

McCulloch was only playing last night due to a hamstring strain to Kevin Thomson, who is expected to be fit for the weekend.

That would allow McCulloch to be withdrawn from the firing line.