McLeish ready to play Moore

Published on Wednesday 25 August 2004 00:07

IF NOT quite a case of desperate times requiring desperate measures, there is little doubt that Alex McLeish is prepared to resort to any tactic this evening in his attempt to guide Rangers into the group stage of the Champions League for a second successive season.

Metaphorically speaking, as McLeish himself conceded yesterday, his head is on the block as he goes into arguably the most significant fixture of his managerial career to date.

It is why McLeish will consider the inclusion of Craig Moore, his former captain whose position at the club appeared completely untenable last month, in the line-up to face CSKA Moscow at Ibrox in tonight’s third qualifying-round, second-leg match, when Rangers will attempt to overturn the 2-1 deficit sustained in the Russian capital two weeks ago.

Stripped of the skipper’s armband when he insisted on playing for Australia at the Olympic Games, and previously branded ‘unhelpful’ by McLeish for comments indicating his own future at Rangers was dependent on the quality of the manager’s summer signings, Moore returned to Murray Park on Monday after his country’s quarter-final defeat by Iraq in Athens.

He remains on the transfer list, a proposed move to Blackburn Rovers having broken down earlier this month, but has been included in McLeish’s squad for a game which holds massive financial and sporting consequences for Rangers.

With vice-captain Alex Rae starting his five-match UEFA suspension for kicking CSKA player Serghei Dadu in the head during the first leg, and Dragan Mladenovic still short of full match fitness, McLeish may opt to recall Moore to his defence with either Fernando Ricksen or Zurab Khizanishvili stepping forward to fill the midfield void.

"He has played games in Athens, he is sharp and fully fit if selected," said McLeish. "That’s all I’m prepared to say about it. The side issues are something I want to avoid, I just want to focus on the game."

Nonetheless, there was a tacit admission from McLeish that his own relationship with Moore remains strained and that the player’s presence in the squad who retired to a Glasgow hotel last night is a purely pragmatic decision.

"He is popular in the dressing room," said McLeish. "He is an experienced man and, whether he plays or not, I know the players would like him around. Every senior player at my disposal is in the squad for this game."

The first Old Firm fixture of the season at Parkhead on Sunday, which could see Rangers fall five points behind Celtic in the embryonic stages of the championship, has been relegated in terms of significance for McLeish as he craves the kudos of a slot among Europe’s 32 elite clubs.

He is, of course, also keenly aware of the bounty of some 8million which chairman John McClelland sees as a minimum requirement as he continues his fire fighting of Rangers’ torrid finances.

"I’m not looking any further ahead than this game, because it is the most important one of the season so far," said McLeish.

"I’m sure a few people will be thinking about the financial side of it but I don’t think any of the players or coaches will look at it that way. We are only thinking in terms of prestige and enhancing our prowess in the game.

"No-one thanked me last year for all the money we saved [in the transfer market] as opposed to the seasons before. If silverware isn’t on the table, then I get it in the neck. That’s what I’m concentrating on.

"I’m paid to take the pressure and make the decisions, and I have got to live or die by that. I think it would be a bigger achievement to qualify this season than it was last season. A year ago, we still had a season to look forward to on the back of the treble.

"Not winning any silverware last season adds more pressure to the situation but it is a game I look forward to and relish. It’s why I love being involved in football."

Against opponents who displayed pace in abundance in the first leg, McLeish knows his team must beware the danger of the counter-attacking tactics CKSA coach Vassiliy Gazzaev is certain to employ tonight.

We need to be disciplined," agreed the Rangers manager, "because it’s not as if we are two or three goals down. We don’t have to go out with all guns blazing.

"It should be an advantage for us that we have gained more match fitness since the first leg. We are weakened by the fact Alex Rae is missing, but it is a bonus to have Mladenovic back in the squad. The lads know they have to play to their very top level and if it means some of them even playing above that level, then that’s what it takes to get through. They must produce.

"CSKA are very good and the two strikers, Vagner Love and Ivica Olic, are a handful. They are decent all over the pitch, in fact, and have spent a few bob building their team."

A few bob may come McLeish’s way if Rangers qualify, with an offer to Moroccan international midfielder Mustapha Hadji, on a week’s trial at Murray Park, perhaps dependent on success this evening. "I’m not commenting on that or anything else," said McLeish. "All of my focus is on this game."

With just three wins from 11 games in Europe since becoming Rangers manager, McLeish has seldom needed a victory as much as he does tonight.