McLeish faces derby shakedown

Ewan Murray at Ibrox
Monday April 17, 2006
The Guardian

Rangers require a recovery like the one that clinched the Scottish title in the final moments of last season if they are to salvage any tangible reward from an utterly disappointing domestic campaign. With the dramatic moments of this season's European run a distant memory, they trail Hearts by five points and 14 goals in the race for second place.

This weekend's fixtures, which see both teams in derby action, will be crucial in deciding which side enters qualification for next season's Champions League. "We have to look forward and the players need to show character for the game at Celtic," said McLeish. "With us going there and Hearts away to Hibs, it could be the defining weekend. We won't concede anything yet, because we can remind ourselves of what happened last season."

Yet if Hearts can return a better result from their meeting with Hibs than Rangers manage at Celtic Park then McLeish's tenure at Ibrox, which has been littered with trophy successes, will almost certainly end in disappointment. Put simply, Hearts at full strength are a better, more creative and more efficient team than Rangers, but having to settle for third place would still be a highly ignominious end to McLeish's six-year spell in charge.

Kris Boyd, the country's top scorer, gave Rangers the lead from close in before Scott Severin's 25-yard shot flew past Ronald Waterreus via a deflection from Julien Rodriguez. Aberdeen, who paradoxically need Rangers to finish second if they are to have any hope of Uefa Cup football next season, deserved their point and were slightly unfortunate not to have recorded their first win at Ibrox since 1991.

"Not holding on to leads has cost us dearly this season," added the Rangers manager. "We've dropped points at home and on the road; the league table doesn't lie." Rangers have failed to beat Aberdeen in any of the clubs' four meetings this season, a fact McLeish will no doubt view as decisive if his team fail to catch Hearts.

Off-field matters had dominated the build-up to this match. Gerhard Kapl, the Uefa disciplinary inspector who instigated last week's hearing into the behaviour of Rangers' supporters at the Champions League matches against Villarreal, has until midnight tomorrow to lodge an appeal against the European governing body's not guilty verdict. If Kapl acts, as seems likely, the issue will be discussed by Uefa's executive committee within the next fortnight.

Man of the match Gary Dempsey (Aberdeen)

Taken from the Guardian/Observer