Players were oceans apart on training field

Published on Sunday 7 January 2007 00:54

BRAHIM Hemdani, in an astonishing interview, has revealed the true extent of the rift between the Scottish players and the foreign ones at Rangers - a division that had a great influence on French manager Paul le Guen's decision this week to throw in the towel.

Hemdani, who lashed in a spectacular late effort to earn Rangers a 1-1 draw against Glasgow rivals Celtic last month, labelled the loss of Le Guen as "an enormous waste" for the club. And the 28-year-old French defender, in a telling anecdote, described the state of confusion among the overseas players on the morning Le Guen's departure was announced.

Thursday's morning training session was cancelled in light of Le Guen's resignation. The Scottish players knew it, and didn't turn up at Murray Park. But nobody bothered informing their foreign team-mates.

"It was all quite bizarre," a disillusioned Hemdani recounts. "Part of the squad turned up Thursday morning, thinking there was training, and the other half were sat comfortably at home. Clearly, half of the players knew it was cancelled, and the other half didn't. Let's just say it was a bit strange. We should have been told."

Hemdani's story goes to show just how bad the communication is between some of the players at Rangers, and further highlights the split in the dressing-room that has caused so much tension at the club this season.

Coming hot on the heels of David Murray's proclamation that there would be no more foreign managers at Rangers in future, Hemdani's revelations will leave supporters wondering how many of the current crop of overseas players will remain at the club after the January transfer window. Hemdani, who was signed by Le Guen's predecessor, Alex McLeish, says he can feel the winds of change sweeping through the Ibrox club.

"When you hear the chairman say there will be no more foreign coaches at the head of the club then it's pretty clear where the club's going now," says Hemdani. "Things are going to change. Obviously, the foreign players will be in a weakened position and it's no good pretending otherwise."

Jeremy Clement, one of the rare Le Guen signings to have won over Rangers fans in his first few months at the club, agrees that these will be trying times for the foreign contingent.

"I've got another two-and-a-half years on my contract and the way I see it is quite simple - I'm paid to do a job and I just want to get my head down and do it to the best of my ability," says the likeable young French midfielder.

"Of course, we're sad to see Paul Le Guen go - we've enjoyed working with him. But when you're a player, you just have to get on with it. I've been playing regularly, and I hope the new manager will want me in his side. But you never know. It's going to be more delicate, perhaps, for some of the foreign players who haven't been getting so many games."

The bust-up between Le Guen and Barry Ferguson seemed to crystallise the growing conflict between a largely Francophone group of foreign players and the Scots, led by their intransigent captain. An "us and them" atmosphere had grown in the dressing-room, leading to several heated moments between leading players and paving the way to the mess in which the club finds itself today. Le Guen's departure, when it came, was not so much of a surprise to Hemdani.

"Frankly, we knew it was a possibility because all the ingredients were pointing to it," the former Marseille man explains. "The situation was becoming more and more difficult, and made his leaving more likely. Some might say his departure is a victory for the Scots clan. All I can say is you have to try to remain objective.

"Since the start of the season there have been people trying to build it into a Scots versus the rest thing. If the manager decided to take the decision he did, it must be because he realised that he didn't have all the right conditions to work in the way to which he aspired."

We shall never know whether Le Guen would have been able to turn things round and build a more stable, successful future for Rangers. Hemdani, though, is certain his fellow Frenchman will be missed. Some of the side's recent performances made Hemdani think a corner had been turned.

"I think things were beginning to happen," he says. "We had enormously progressed in the way we were trying to play compared to what went on before. There was a clear improvement. Paul le Guen's departure is a huge loss, an enormous waste. When you have the good fortune to have a coach of his quality, it's a real shame to lose him. I think he didn't even have time to get started."