One Eck of a problem

Published on Sunday 19 September 2004 01:17

WHAT are the odds on Alex McLeish being caught on CCTV sneaking into Ibrox in the dead of night, screwdriver in hand, desperate to fix that shoogly peg his jacket’s swinging on.

It’s not pleasant watching a man clinging to a precipice, fully aware that the tips of his fingers can’t defy gravity much longer and the safety net below has a huge rip in it.

Only overhauling Celtic in the league or winning the UEFA Cup would redeem the Rangers manager in the minds of an increasingly disillusioned and demonstrative Ibrox support, and at a club where patience is as scant as wins these days, he’s unlikely to maintain his grip long enough to be able to achieve either, which is why the kindest thing David Murray could do is drop a brick on those fingers now and end the mental cruelty.

After the ignominy of last term, when they finished 17 points behind Celtic, they have simply compounded the misery with a woeful start to this season. Just two wins in eight and already languishing seven points behind their chief rivals, the larger embarrassment is the fact that they are sitting in fourth place in the league behind Aberdeen and Kilmarnock.

Add to that the fact they are out of one European competition and on the back-foot in another, extending their run of European games without a win to eight, never mind the fact their latest Old Firm defeat was their seventh on the bounce, and it’s not looking good. If statistics truly can be twisted to say anything, contorting that lot into something positive would be more impressive than watching a guy at the fair ground make a sausage dog from a couple of balloons.

It’s now no longer a case of if McLeish is dismissed, merely when, and sources close to Murray have fuelled rumours that possible replacements are already being canvassed.

Today Rangers will take on Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Ibrox. Even weighed down by pressure, it should result in their third win of the season, but it will offer little respite, as Aberdeen loom large in the CIS Cup on Wednesday.

While Hearts’ UEFA Cup showing on Thursday has heightened the angst amongst Rangers supporters, who despair at their own defeat, it is the resurgence of the Pittodrie club - with McLeish’s former defensive partner, Willie Miller, and Jimmy Calderwood, whom some are touting as his replacement, at the helm - which has really placed the club under the microscope. They took a share of the spoils on the opening day to hand Celtic the initiative, and by maintaining a decent run of their own, the Dons, like Kilmarnock and Hearts, have undermined the whining about budget cuts and financial ring-fencing emanating from Govan.

"I didn’t expect it to be smooth, we obviously raised the bar very high when I came," said McLeish, who, remember, also got his managerial stints at Motherwell and Hibs off to fliers before stumbling as he headed out the door. "When you raise it that high you have to accept that there are potential pitfalls ahead, especially with the turnover that we’ve had, the players that have left this club, trying to replace those with players of the same quality becomes difficult, that’s the same for any club, not just Rangers."

Compared only with Celtic, or European counterparts, the Ibrox club can just about get away with that gripe, but the argument falls flat when they are then unable to match the achievements of adversaries who remain paupers to their prince.

Which is why another slip against Aberdeen could be fatal, especially as it would leave them all but out of four competitions just two months into the season.

McLeish admits the pressure is mounting but he remains bullish. "Listen, it’s Rangers that we’re talking about. If we’re afraid to go to Aberdeen then it’s a bad day." But that’s the problem, these aren’t just bad days, they are downright terrible. And the players are frightened.

McLeish claims he is shielding his charges, saying: "I’m here to take the pressure off the players. I know that ultimately the buck stops with me, that’s football, I’m mature enough and strong enough to handle that." But such wholesome ideals actually just undermine him further as they are at odds with the facts. If he is trying to protect his players, he’s failing. After the Maritimo match, Fernando Ricksen admitted the players were desperate to win "for the manager". But desperation is rarely attractive or effective and no matter how much McLeish urges his men to relax, circumstances will dictate otherwise until changes are made.

Which is why Murray, a ruthless businessman who was never afraid to make a big-name signing in the past when some feelgood factor was required, is poised to act. The general belief is that the soul of the dressing room is now so tarnished, one good man would drown in the despondency before he was able to load enough of his team-mates into the life-raft.

Murray has tried to switch things at the top by reinstating himself as the figurehead and floating a share issue, but for that to succeed, change is still of the essence. Just as McLeish managed to do when he first shipped into Ibrox, a new manager can help a squad seemingly full of self-doubt or self-loathing. What other reason is there for players such as Craig Moore and Dado Prso to perform so well on international duty then look so inept a week later when decked out in blue?

McLeish refuses to discuss individuals, positions or tactics. At a time when he should be looking for allies, he is simply alienating himself further.

Asked by one journalist to explain some of his recent positional decisions, he refused. "No, you know nothing about it, it’s pointless talking about it and discussing that. We know best. I’ve got Jan Wouters, I've got Andy Watson. Jan Wouters has 70 caps for Holland and if we don’t know what we’re doing then, I’m sorry, but you guys out there don’t know any better than us. I’m sorry but that’s a fact, you can talk about positions all you like, but personnel sometimes dictates certain systems and you have to be more intelligent in the way that you analyse it. I’m sorry to take you down that way, but that’s a fact."

The rant of a beast wounded and cornered?

Whatever problems lie within the Ibrox dressing room, McLeish is no longer up to the task of resolving them. The cancer is too far gone. No-one likes to take him down like that, but that too is fact.

The inevitability of the situation does not make it any less sad, however. "I’m proud," says McLeish, momentarily softening and forgetting that these days, in his mind, verbal attack is seemingly the best form of defence. "I want Rangers to succeed, I want to succeed for my own prestige. I feel that we’re on the right lines, and I don’t think that there’s anything at all to be ashamed of in the last year when we haven’t won anything."

He may think that beating Celtic was too tall an order, he may harbour the idea that competing in Europe is all but impossible for Scottish clubs these days, he may even blame it all on cursed bad luck, but if he does, he has simply outlined a concrete case for his own dismissal. Rangers fans have no sense of an inferiority complex compared to their rivals and you can be damned sure Martin O’Neill doesn’t either. Feeling second best renders you just that.

"Winning shuts the critics up, that’s the bottom line," McLeish said. He obviously knows what is needed but is still unable to deliver it. That’s why it’s now time to let go.