Murray has faith in McLeish to reverse domestic decline

Published on Friday 9 December 2005 01:35

ALEX McLEISH will celebrate his fourth anniversary as manager of Rangers on Sunday, in charge of a team who have slipped to fifth place in the Bank of Scotland Premierleague as a consequence of one of the worst runs of domestic form the club has ever known.

Yet a man whose pride and defiance in the face of adversity have now come to characterise him as much as a manager as they did as an player goes into the match with fourth-placed Kilmarnock at Rugby Park with his position at Ibrox arguably as strong as ever.

The outcome of McLeish's meeting with David Murray yesterday was the unequivocal backing of his chairman and a mandate to strengthen his ailing squad during next month's transfer window. Murray has long craved European credibility since he bought Rangers in 1988 and Tuesday night's 1-1 draw with Inter Milan at Ibrox, which steered his club into the last 16 of the Champions League, was as significant as any moment of his stewardship.

It will, he estimates, earn Rangers a one-off bonus of 5 million to add to the bounty of around 10 million they have already earned from participation in the group stage. It is more than enough to convince Murray that McLeish remains the right man to take Rangers forward at home and in Europe.

"As disappointing domestically as we have been, I don't think we should minimise the success of our achievements in the Champions League," said Murray.

"As you know, I met Alex three weeks ago and made it clear to him that I wanted to see a response from the team. Although there hasn't been one domestically, we have finished second in a Champions League group where, by a bit of luck, we were actually seeded third.

"You can analyse whether Artmedia should have scored a late winner against Porto on Tuesday when the ball stuck in the mud, just as you can analyse whether Peter Lovenkrands should have scored a winner with a close range header when we played in Bratislava. The facts are that Rangers have played eight games in Europe this season and only lost one.

"Of the 16 teams who have qualified, I think we probably spend the second least amount on wages so we have done very well. We are not trying to dismiss the fact we have been poor domestically, but if you look at Ajax and Arsenal, who are both trailing quite badly in their leagues but have also reached the last 16 of the Champions League, there is a slight parallel there. They are not thinking of changing their managers.

"Today, I have been speaking to chairmen of English Premiership and French League clubs and they can't believe the goldfish bowl mentality of Scotland is questioning the integrity of a manager who is the first to take a Scottish club into the last 16 of the Champions League.

"I have faith in Alex because he has managed on a lesser budget to give us a higher level of success in Europe than we have ever had. Rangers were mocked before about Europe, but we are in there now. We will get 5 million from the last 16 tie and that's why we shouldn't underestimate how important it is.

"I would have backed Alex no matter the outcome on Tuesday, I'm quite certain of that. I am committed to Alex McLeish as manager. He had to manage the team during a downsizing period and I think he should be applauded for that. We went down a route which was financially wrong. Alex has not had the kind of resources other managers had."

Murray says McLeish never will have the kind of funds previously allocated to his successor Dick Advocaat, but did say that the manager will benefit from a new financial initiative he intends to announce shortly which will "make Rangers self-sufficient" even without European football every season.

"There will be a big announcement shortly, which I don't want to pre-empt today but I think it will shock a few people," he said. "If we are being honest, we are finding it hard to play on all fronts at the moment. We don't have the resources. When we narrowly failed to beat Bayern Munich and Monaco (in previous Champions League campaigns), our wage structure was 35 million a year. It is now 18 million a year. You have to ask yourself if we are getting 18 million a year worth of value, you can question that all day, but the proof of the pudding is that we are in the last 16 of the Champions League, so we must be doing something right.

"Fiscally, we are probably one of the best run clubs in Britain now. We will not lose money again. We will break even, we own our stadium. We have downsized in paying wages and tried to develop other areas and have still qualified for the latter stages of the Champions League."

Murray knows not all Rangers supporters will welcome his decision to keep faith with McLeish but he is confident the team's domestic fortunes can be turned around in the coming weeks.

"I know some supporters were very unhappy with the Falkirk game last Saturday and demonstrated those feelings," he said. "There was no-one more upset than I was going up the road that night, but I believe in Alex and the players and I think the support they got on Tuesday night helped them achieve the result against Inter.

"Real Rangers supporters showed their loyalty to the club this week. We had a terrible result against Falkirk, the players let the club down, but there wasn't one bit of dissent at Ibrox on Tuesday night. When we went 1-0 down, the support helped the team get that draw. I can honestly say I've never seen many better supports at Ibrox ever.

"I will try and repay that loyalty by using the money we have made to buy new players in January. I'm not trying to make excuses for the team, I'm just trying to deal in the facts. Some of the players have been under-performing, there has been a lack of confidence and we are seeing open goals missed but I believe when we get back to normal, then we will start climbing up the league.

"The players have all been quick to show their support for Alex this week and there is no better opportunity for them to start improving than on Sunday.

"A time like this just makes me more determined. This is when you find out what you are made of. Just because I own 90 per cent of the shares doesn't mean I am not accountable to the Rangers supporters. I am accountable to them and all I can say to them is that the good times will come back. Be patient, stick by Alex, because it will improve."

• Blackburn Rovers may be ready to free Lorenzo Amoruso after the veteran defender suffered another injury that will keep him on the sidelines for four weeks. The former Rangers centre-back, 34, has not played for Blackburn for 14 months and is now set to undergo an ankle operation. Amoruso has made just 21 appearances since a 1.4 million move from Rangers in the summer of 2003.