Alex McLeish insists nobody can take his memories

Football Writer

Tuesday 7 August 2012

ALEX McLEISH, the former Rangers manager, believes the club did nothing wrong in their use of an employee benefit trust (EBT) scheme to pay players and staff between 2001 and 2010, and revealed he would strongly resist any possible attempts to strip him of medals accrued during that period.

Alex McLeish

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Graeme Macpherson

The Scottish Premier League last week appointed an independent commission to investigate alleged undisclosed payments made to players, and whether Rangers were in breach of league rules by doing so. One of the commission's possible sanctions, if a breach is proven, would be to strip the club of league titles accumulated during that period. McLeish spent four-and-a-half years in charge at Rangers between December 2001 and May 2006, twice winning the championship, and refuted any suggestion he had done so by foul means.

"It would be very disappointing if that [titles being stripped] was to happen to Rangers, and I don't believe it should," he said. "If a guy turns up at my door looking for the medals back, he'll be getting a right-hander. No-one can ever take away my memories. If they officially took away the titles, it would be difficult for me to accept, but no-one could take away the achievements."When I joined Rangers, Celtic were kicking their backsides. In my first season, the title was already gone when I arrived in December and it was a massive achievement for me to get back at Celtic. They were an exceptional team – people said it was the best since 1967. Martin [O'Neill] had built a strong side with [John] Hartson and [Henrik] Larsson and these guys, so for me to start beating Celtic with Rangers was one of my proudest moments."McLeish is thought to have received £1.7m via the EBT scheme during his time as manager. "In terms of me going to Rangers after Dick Advocaat, I was signing on for the going rate which was correct at the time," he said. "I was guided by my lawyer who assured me everything was fine and I'm still assured of that. We did nothing wrong. My lawyer was there every inch of the way and said all was fine."McLeish has watched from afar as Rangers began their downward spiral into the Irn-Bru Third Division, in which they this weekend play their first game. He hopes Rangers' presence will be a boon for all the clubs in the Scottish Football League."It just seems surreal but it's now happened. Rangers are there and they have to embrace it. I believe the other clubs, in terms of season tickets, are doing much better so their supporters have put their money where their mouths are. But Rangers will hopefully enhance the whole of the Scottish game. It will take a while for them to get back to the top level but I'm sure it will be a massive boost for the lower echelons of Scottish football. "I'd like to have seen Rangers take the decision themselves [to start in the third division] but they had to go through the legal matters with the powers that be. Their fate has been decided. There are principles and rules involved, so they can't make exceptions for Rangers just because it's a massive institution."McLeish also feels that Rangers' absence will prove detrimental to the Clydesdale Bank Premier League but hopes other clubs can use the opportunity to launch a sustained tilt at the championship. "The SPL is a loser in this one. I watched Celtic versus Aberdeen at the weekend and wondered how Celtic could do without Rangers in the league. But everybody voted against Rangers and that's that. Whether the likes of Aberdeen or Dundee United can challenge again, I don't know. It's hard to bet against Celtic dominating the game while Rangers are out. But some terrific players have come through the Scottish system in the last few years. Some of the Dundee United boys are really exciting. If they can thrive and see that there's a wee opportunity to put up some sort of challenge to Celtic that's got to be great for the national game. The Johnny Russells of this world look superb. This is the season for him and others to shine."McLeish has been out of work since being sacked by Aston Villa at the end of last season but is grateful just to have some time off. "I know I need to take this break because it was quite a hard year. It's the first one I've had since leaving Rangers."Two days after leaving Villa, I took a call from a Turkish agent asking if I'd be interested in talking to Besiktas. I said no. Part of me was thinking I needed to keep working, but I really needed a break."n McLeish was promoting ESPN's coverage of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League and the Irn-Bru Scottish Football League.

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Alex McLeish insists nobody can take his memories

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