Rangers 3 - 0 Kilmarnock: Wilson's form hands Smith quick fix to Bougherra issue

Published on Sunday 22 November 2009 23:17

MADJID Bougherra may be about to discover that absence does anything but make the heart grow fonder when it comes to his relationship with Rangers and their supporters.

The Algerian central defender was not missed at Ibrox on Saturday. For that, all the credit goes to Danny Wilson, a 17-year-old who again served notice of a special talent for which both Rangers and Scotland may be grateful in the years to come.

But while Wilson's impeccable form more than compensates for Bougherra's unavailability on the pitch, it is unlikely to spare him from the disapproval of either his manager Walter Smith or the Rangers fans after he failed to return from international duty on schedule for the third time since he joined the Ibrox club from Charlton Athletic 18 months ago.

Current circumstances at Rangers dictate that Smith is not in a position to adopt a hardline stance with Bougherra for what, at best, is a lack of respect for his employers. Nonetheless, the 27-year-old may yet pay a price for taking excessive advantage of the situation last week.

Smith had been prepared to indulge Bougherra to a certain extent after Algeria were forced into a play-off against Egypt in Sudan last Wednesday to secure their place in the finals of next year's World Cup. The veteran coach had effectively ruled the player out of his plans for the SPL fixture against Kilmarnock as a consequence.

What Smith did not anticipate, however, was a complete lack of communication from Bougherra who had still not arrived back in Glasgow by Saturday.

"He should have been back on Friday night after asking for permission to go to the Algerian celebrations on Thursday, which we gave him," revealed Smith. "This is the third time he has come back late from an international break, so I will need to speak to him. He has come a long way from Charlton reserves, you know.

"Listen, it's not really a major issue as far as I'm concerned, it's just another managerial decision I'll need to make when I speak to him. But it's not a major issue with the way young Danny Wilson is playing for us anyway."

With a temperament to match his unruffled playing style, Scotland under-19 captain Wilson delivered an almost faultless display. If Smith faced a dilemma over whether Bougherra should replace Wilson for tomorrow night's crucial Champions League tie against VfB Stuttgart at Ibrox, it may well have disappeared on Saturday.

"It's never a problem if you get a young lad who comes in and plays in the manner which he has played," said Smith. "Danny has handled it as well as any young player I've ever worked with at his age.

"I compared him with David Narey recently, which is high praise from my point of view. But he is playing in that manner which is great credit to him." Now unbeaten in their last 25 domestic fixtures since losing to Celtic in the Co-operative Insurance Cup final eight months ago, Rangers wrapped up victory on Saturday with three goals in a first half far more evenly contested than the scoreline suggested.

Allan McGregor made two fine saves from Kevin Kyle and other good stops to deny Manuel Pascali and Gavin Skelton.

Rangers, however, carried greater conviction in attack throughout. Kris Boyd gave them a seventh-minute lead, latching on to Kevin Thomson's through ball to beat Mark Brown with a low shot from eight yards, before his strike partner Kenny Miller made it 2-0.

Miller turned provider for the third goal ten minutes before half-time, cutting the ball back from the right for Steven Whittaker to net at the second attempt after his initial shot was blocked by Frazer Wright.

"We actually started the game really well," observed Kilmarnock manager Jim Jefferies, "but you have to defend well here and we went to pieces after ten minutes. The defending was shocking."

MAN OF THE MATCH

Danny Wilson (Rangers)

Comfortable in possession, dominant in the air and possessed of game awareness beyond his 17 years, the left-sided central defender looked as if he was making his 400th appearance for Rangers rather than his fourth. Will be exceptionally unfortunate not to retain his place against VfB Stuttgart tomorrow night.