DEJA BLUE

ALEX McLEISH insists last season's dramatic title comeback can inspire Rangers to second place and give them another crack at Champions League glory.

Rangers trail Hearts by six points with eight games remaining but failed to narrow the gap in Sunday's 1-1 draw at Tynecastle.

The Ibrox men's hopes of overhauling the deficit were boosted yesterday when Hearts were plunged into turmoil by the sacking of boss Graham Rix.

But even without that unexpected fillip McLeish reckons his side have the bottle and experience to clinch second spot.

Last season Celtic held a five-point lead with four games to go only for Rangers to clinch the title on a remarkable final day of the season.

McLeish said: "Second place is definitely achievable. We are capable of doing it. We have only to look at last season when we had a similar deficit with fewer games to go and we won that challenge.

"It was not a disastrous result for us to draw 1-1 last Sunday but having reflected on it over the past couple of days we feel we should have won it.

"We had the chances to win after we got ourselves back on level terms so there is a feeling of disappointment that we didn't collect all three points.

"The good thing is I was impressed with the confidence shown by the team.

"They have produced good form in the last three games - Villarreal, Kilmarnock and Hearts - and hopefully they will take this into Saturday's game with Dunfermline.

"Kris Boyd came on and looked really sharp. He was effective outside the box and that is an area of his game he has been working on.

"We all know what he can do inside the box and maybe the jag of not starting the game pumped him up.

"Things like that can trigger players and I think this is what happened with Kris. He changed the game for us when he came on."

McLeish concedes the result favoured Hearts but he refuses to panic.

He told the Rangers News: "It was a better point for Hearts than it was for us but there is still a lot to be decided.

"Hearts scored their goal with what was their first real attack. They had a couple of throw-ins but the goal was their first attacking move."

A spirited second-half comeback gave McLeish plenty of grounds for optimism as did the performance of key personnel, including defender Julien Rodriguez.

Eck said: "Julien was outstanding. His English has been getting better and that helps when you are settling in to a new environment.

"He is a real competitor who does not like to lose and I just love his attitude.

"His influence will undoubtedly help those around him and be a key ingredient for us in the remaining matches."

Thomas Buffel was also a key factor at Tynecastle, scoring his first goal for the club outside of Glasgow, and McLeish is looking for more of the same from the Belgian in the final quarter of the campaign.

He said: "Thomas has also been a big player for us in the recent matches.

"Some people had accused him of not doing so well away from Ibrox but you can see from his performances in Spain and at Tynecastle that this is not the case.

"He has good feet and the ability to ghost in to get on the end of moves or set someone else up.

"Thomas is in confident mood and hopefully he can continue to do well."

Meanwhile, McLeish admits he will have no say in the futures of the five Rangers players currently out on loan with the decision resting with incoming boss Paul le Guen.

Blackburn are keen to keep Zurab Khizanishvili and Motherwell want to extend Brian McLean's stay at Fir Park.

Charlie Adam has raised his profile at St Mirren and fellow youngster Ross McCormack has made a huge impact since joining Doncaster Rovers.

Only goalkeeper Allan McGregor looks certain to return when his loan stint at Dunfermline expires at the end of the season.

McLeish added: "The future of the loan players is not my decision any more. Rangers will have to discuss things with the new man.

"But I will not shirk my responsibilities. I have been keeping in touch with how all our lads have been doing. We have seen how Allan McGregor has been getting on at Dunfermline.

"And Charlie Adam has progressed well with St Mirren and scored a good goal at the weekend.

"Similarly, I have been impressed with the way Brian McLean and Ross McCormack have been getting on at Motherwell and Doncaster respectively."

"Ross has been voted man of the match in four or five matches. It's a credit to his mentality that he has gone there and done so well. It will only increase his confidence."

Taken from the Daily Record