Graeme Murty yet to deal with Andy Halliday over dissent

Rangers manager Graeme Murty has revealed he has yet to resolve the issue of Andy Halliday's public show of dissent during last Sunday's Scottish Cup semi-final defeat by Celtic.

Rangers midfielder Andy Halliday, centre, shows his frustration after being substituted at Hampden. Picture: SNS

The midfielder reacted angrily after being substituted by Murty before half-time at Hampden as Rangers lost 4-0.

Halliday remains in Murty’s squad for tomorrow’s Premiership game against Hearts at Ibrox, as does winger Daniel Candeias who also made his displeasure clear when replaced against Celtic.

Murty, who would not comment on the club suspensions issued this week to senior players Lee Wallace and Kenny Miller for allegedly overstepping the mark when they questioned his management immediately after the semi-final, has spoken to Candeias but has surprisingly not addressed Halliday’s situation.

“I am giving Andy a bit of space at the moment,” said Murty. “He looks a little bit raw. As a human being I respect his space. But before Sunday, Andy and I will have a sit down and have a chat. It is an issue.

“I don’t have an issue with Andy in training. If I did, I would have brought it to a head. But Andy has focused in training really, really well. I commend his attitude. I will address any issue with a player, as a person, at a time I consider appropriate.

“Andy and Daniel are both human beings. Andy was desperately disappointed to be coming off the pitch early. He didn’t direct any dissent towards me to my face, but I don’t expect him to be happy coming off the pitch having been substituted that early.

“I have spoken with Daniel. He plainly wasn’t happy to come off. Speaking to him afterwards he said that he didn’t believe that he had done himself justice.

“As a human being, I regret the impact that it is going to have on Andy as a person. As a professional decision, I needed to change the shape of the team and I needed to impact the way the game was going. It might have been someone else, it was unfortunate it was Andy.

“If I based every decision on the fact that it might create an issue with a player I would never do anything. When I first came and sat in this chair I was told by some very senior people to trust my gut and go with the decision. I made a decision and I went with it. It has had some repercussions. The player is not happy. I accept that. We have to move forward.”