Alex McLeish arrived at Ibrox knowing he was inheriting a lost cause. Taking over from a tired Dick Advocaat in December of 2001, the former Hibs boss could see the writing was on the wall as far as his new team’s title prospects were concerned. Big Eck tried to put a brave face on it as he insisted Rangers would fight all the way to the death.
But facing an 11 point deficit, the new Light Blues boss couldn’t kid himself as he came to the conclusion there was no way his side could rein in the lead built up by Martin O’Neill’s rampant Hoops. He was right of course and the Parkhead team would eventually end the season a massive 18 points ahead of their rivals from across the city.
Now two decades on, it likely the person picked to replace Gio van Bronckhorst will be following a similar chain of thought as they assess the current Premiership state of affairs. Today’s nine-point gap might not be as substantial as the one McLeish was met with but Rangers’ chances of bridging it look no better now than then. But through the gloom, McLeish saw opportunity in the two domestic cup competitions to win over the doubters who voiced concern about his readiness to step into the Ibrox hot-seat and to inject some much needed confidence back into his new charges.
That’s exactly how it played out, with victory in both of that season’s knockouts tourneys providing a launchpad for a dramatic treble the following campaign. And that’s why the former Ibrox gaffer has issued a word of wisdom to the candidates hoping to take over from van Bronckhorst, who might already be looking to the January 2 Old Firm clash at Ibrox as their first chance to put down a marker.
Instead, Eck reckons they should be circling a date in their diary a couple of weeks later as the priority for their new reign. The ex-Scotland boss told Record Sport : “When I was appointed by Rangers, I remember saying publicly that we’d have a go and try to take the fight as far as we could.
“But realistically, deep down in my heart, I knew the league was gone. Celtic were indomitable against everyone else at that time. They ended up being runaway champions. I got a bit of an underwhelming welcome from the fans but I knew it was up to me to win them over. I said to myself, I must at least win a cup this season to justify David Murray and Dick Advocaat choosing me and my staff for this massive opportunity.
“Thankfully I managed to do that by winning both of the cups in my first year and these competitions will be just as big for whoever comes in to replace Gio this time. I’m not saying the league is finished but it’s a massive gulf right now, especially with the way Celtic are playing with such freedom and speed. If the league is gone, then it’s up to Rangers to win what’s left. There’s a game against Aberdeen in the League Cup semis coming up on January 15 that’s now a huge match, probably bigger than the Old Firm game a couple of weeks before. Winning that will be the new manager’s mission.”
When McLeish got his first crack at O’Neill’s team at Hampden, he was forced to rally a team that had lost their last five derby meetings to the Parkhead side. But Bert Konterman proved to be the unlikely hero as his goal dumped Celtic from the League Cup before Rangers romped past Ayr in the final.
“That night at Hampden was absolutely crucial for me in terms of my relationship with the team and the supporters,” added McLeish. “We won that semi-final with big Bert’s screamer and it was something you could only have dreamed of. I’d inherited a wonderful bunch of players but at that point they were tired looking. They were playing at one pace, trying to walk the ball into the net at that time in the perfect Dutch way.
“Dick said to me, ‘It’s up to you to fix it!’ We changed a few things, made them play a bit quicker, press higher, run more and it got the results we wanted. Ok Celtic won the league but we managed to win the Scottish Cup at the end of the season with another amazing day at Hampden when Peter Lovenkrands scored the winner in extra-time. That set us up brilliantly for the next season when we won the Treble. That’s exactly why the new man has to take these two cups seriously when he comes in.”
The new man will be faced with a series of challenges, however, none bigger McLesih reckons than the nightmare injury list that currently includes 10 first-team stars. He said: “Gio achieved a lot in his year in charge when you think about getting to the Europa League final and then taking the team back into the Champions League groups against the odds.
“Having done a number on PSV to get there, the team would have been looking to maintain those standards. But he was so unfortunate that he lost guys like Joe Aribo and Calvin Bassey and then had a horrendous spate of injuries. Obviously I’m going to do my bit for the manager’s union and stick up for Gio but he was so unlucky. I thought it was a great move when they signed Tom Lawrence. But he’s another who has been unfortunately injured for a long time and that hasn’t helped Gio. When you lose your best players I’m afraid there’s not a lot you can do.”
Van Bronckhorst was repeatedly faced with the deafening sound of boos ringing out from the furious Ibrox faithful as performances and results dipped during the final weeks of his tenure. And McLeish reckons the Dutchman would known then his days were numbered. “When there’s that swell amongst the supporters, you feel it,” he said. “You know at that point time might be short.
“When my time was ending at Rangers, David Murray and I had a wee tete-a-tete and decided I’d stay on to the end of the season after we managed to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League. That made the whole thing a little easier to face. Gio is a great guy but when things go wrong in any walk of life, people look to analyse the body language and you could see it had taken a toll on him.”
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