McLeish left hanging as Rangers fail again

Published on Monday 7 November 2005 01:32

RANGERS 0 - 0 ABERDEEN

FOOTBALL managers hear more whispers than Joan of Arc, but none is as fateful as the one that is accompanied by a tap on the shoulder from his chairman. For Alex McLeish, the summons is now more expected than dreaded.

Whatever postponement of his dismissal may have been secured by the result in Bratislava last Tuesday that sustained Rangers' interest in the Champions League, this latest carelessness at home will surely hasten the process towards removal.

In recent private conversations, the Ibrox manager has hinted that he himself is resigned to the inevitability of his departure, although he gave the impression in the immediate aftermath of the 2-2 draw with Artmedia that the European performance had bought him some time.

When McLeish said that "my job at Rangers is not finished, there is still more to do, more to be achieved", it was possible to infer that he had been told in advance that the avoidance of defeat would allow him to extend his tenure.

There is little doubt, however, that this assurance would have been accompanied by the proviso that the team's domestic fortunes would also have to improve.

For David Murray, the final arbiter in the matter of the manager's future, the greatest horror is the prospect of Rangers failing to finish in the top two in the Bank of Scotland Premierleague, as a consequence denied even the opportunity to compete in the Champions League.

In fourth place, 12 points off the pace - and eight points behind the third team, Hibs - that now looks a possibility, even with only 14 of 38 matches completed. Having won only three of their last ten matches, and dropped 16 points in the process, there is no evidence of the resurgence necessary to take Rangers to the position that financial imperatives demand.

Murray's dilemma now centres on simply when to act. His reputed reluctance to sack employees may allow him to believe that McLeish at least deserves to take the team to Porto for their next Champions League outing on 23 November.

But their next league assignment, at Celtic Park on Saturday week, looms as a monumental obstacle. The Ibrox chairman has to assess whether a change in management will effect an instant transformation in the apparent stagnation of the team (it could just as easily make no difference).

Celtic are to be visited in just over 48 hours, of course, as the Ibrox side defend the other trophy they won last season, the CIS Insurance Cup. It does seem, unlikely, however, that a new man could be at the helm in such a short time.

For McLeish, though, the scheduling of the league match at Parkhead could be ominous. Because the coming week-end is set aside for internationals - Scotland play the USA at Hampden - there is a gap in the fixture list that could, conceivably, allow Murray to make the change.

The question of the identity of a successor, however, seems virtually unanswerable. Murray recruited McLeish from Hibs on the cheap, certainly in relation to the earnings of his predecessor, Dick Advocaat. Given Rangers' present predicament, with no means of immediately strengthening the playing staff, any manager with a tall reputation would demand a salary to match.

Claudio Ranieri's recent rejection of Hearts' advances was prompted exclusively by the Tynecastle club's unwillingness to match the Italian's appraisal of his own worth. In his search for a replacement for McLeish, Murray will encounter similar difficulties.

And whoever is eventually appointed will find himself in charge of a group of players who appear to lack most of the attributes required of a team with championship pretensions. Against Aberdeen, this serious flaw was at the core of another damaging result.

Despite a pronounced advantage in possession, Rangers basically lacked the inventiveness and the movement to outwit visitors who defended resolutely and in substantial numbers. This is a problem for big clubs everywhere, but one which is almost invariably solved by those with the proper equipment.

When McLeish dwelled afterwards on the need for "just one little break in front of goal, even the ball coming off a backside and crossing the line", it was the last resort of a manager demented by his players' failures.

Consistently pumping long and high balls into a crowded penalty area betrays a reliance on a fortunate bounce that ill-becomes a side with Rangers' aspirations.

In the entire 90 minutes, Rangers contrived only two feasible opportunities. From Barry Ferguson's forward pass, Dado Prso turned into space and shot weakly into the arms of Ryan Esson.

And, from Fernando Ricksen's free kick, Sotirios Kyrgiakos headed down to Prso, whose stab at the ball from close range was deflected wide by the composed and generally heroic Russell Anderson.

Rangers, in fact, probably benefited from the luckiest break of all, when referee Stuart Dougal made the puzzling decision not to penalise Kyrgiakos for knocking Chris Clark to the ground with his forearm inside the penalty area. The defender was trying to shepherd the ball out of play as the Aberdeen full-back challenged and his action in fending off the latter looked illegal.

"Yeah, that was a strange one," said Jimmy Calderwood, the Aberdeen manager. "The referee had his whistle in his mouth, then seemed to realise it was inside the box and changed his mind."

In the context of Rangers' situation, it made little difference. Under the three-points-for-victory system, a draw is almost as damaging as a defeat. For the Ibrox side, and their manager in particular, it may prove fatal.