Relieved Rangers able to regroup

Published on Saturday 2 October 2004 01:40

ALEX McLeish enjoyed a rare day off yesterday, spending time with his children as he allowed the relief and satisfaction of Thursday night’s dramatic UEFA Cup first-round victory over Maritimo to sink in.

There is little doubt that had the Rangers manager failed to guide his team into the lucrative inaugural group stage of the tournament, he would have been afforded as much time as he liked in the bosom of his family over the coming weeks.

The heat has been turned down, temporarily at least, on McLeish, whose job was most assuredly on the line at Ibrox on Thursday. If a performance lacking fluency and flair did little to dispel the doubts which continue to surround his team, a fourth consecutive win and clean sheet since the 1-0 first-leg loss to Maritimo in Madeira two weeks earlier at least provided the manager with extra time to try and complete a successful rebuilding job.

In his absence yesterday, it was left to McLeish’s assistant and closest friend Andy Watson to face the media and he conceded the pair were fully aware of just how much was at stake for them on Thursday.

"Of course it was in our thinking, it’s always in our thinking," said Watson. "You can’t lose too many games at Rangers or Celtic and not be under pressure. We know the implications behind it, but we can only deal with the here and now.

"There are games that, if you don’t win them, then you don’t know if you will still be here, but we have won those games now so no-one can answer that. The challenge after we lost to CSKA in the Champions League qualifiers was to beat Maritimo and get into the UEFA Cup group stage. We have achieved that. We have new targets now which bring fresh pressure, but that’s the life here at Rangers.

"Take away the last month and look at the whole time since we first walked through the doors here almost three years ago, and nothing has really changed. There have always been challenges and obstacles put in front of Alex and he has always tried to do things to the best of his ability. He hasn’t changed. None of us are immune to criticism, none of us like to hear bad things said about us but we are big boys and have to get on with it."

The guarantee of European participation until at least mid-December will help sustain Rangers as they seek to emerge successfully from their difficult start to the season. A third-placed finish in their group, the minimum requirement for progress to the last 32 of the UEFA Cup after the turn of the year, should not be beyond them, while they must also meet the challenge of ensuring Celtic do not open an unbridgeable gap in the title race.

Full-back Maurice Ross yesterday offered an intriguing perspective on why Rangers have been able to successfully respond to the first-leg defeat at Maritimo by grinding out four desperately-needed wins in three different competitions.

According to the 23- year-old Dundonian, the restored influence of native players in the Rangers starting line-up may have been the key to achieving the wins which have preserved their manager’s employment.

Ross, who joined compatriots Bob Malcolm, Chris Burke, Steven Thompson and Stephen Hughes in helping Rangers edge out Maritimo, said: "I don’t want to make an issue of it, because if you are good enough you will be in the team, but when there are a few Scottish boys in the team, we seem to do okay collectively as a team. I don’t know if it’s a co-incidence but I remember we had six or seven Scottish boys in the team against Dundee at Ibrox last season and it was the best we had played in ages. I think the fans like to see the Scottish boys playing.

"September was a make or break month for the team and the manager and we’ve stood up and been counted. Everyone has pulled together to come through it."

While Ross, who almost joined West Ham United in August until an injury to Alan Hutton saw the move scrapped, seeks to restore himself as a regular first pick under McLeish, one of the manager’s former charges remains unconvinced by the mini-revival at Rangers.

Maritimo captain Mitchell van der Gaag, who played for McLeish at Motherwell, believes the Ibrox men may struggle to make an impact in the UEFA Cup group stage.

"We did ourselves proud in the tie but I’m not so sure how Rangers will feel about themselves," said the veteran Dutch defender. "Look at how much bigger than Maritimo they are, how much money they have, all the international players and all the experience. Then look at what we are and what we have.

"We are nothing compared to them and we should not have been near them, yet we won the first leg and went all the way to penalties in the second match. No-one expected that, certainly not Rangers. With a better run of the ball, we would have gone through. You need luck and Rangers got more of it than we did. I think they will be thinking they are very lucky to still be in Europe.

"Our only worry was the physical threat Rangers posed from free-kicks and corners. How Rangers do in the competition from now on depends on who they get in the draw. I mean, we are a good side but not a top European side and it was still hard for them."