Belief key for McCall ahead of Ibrox test

Richard Wilson

Sports writer

Wednesday 26 September 2012

The circumstances are different, but old attitudes linger.

'Rangers have had a bit of a kicking . . . we expect a siege mentality,' says Stuart McCall

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Richard Wilson

By most reasonable measures, there ought to be little cause for Motherwell to be wary of visiting Ibrox in the Scottish Communities League Cup. There is still a balance being struck, though, between the confidence that arises from being top of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League and what a trip to Rangers represents.

Historical attitudes prevail. Stuart McCall, for instance, described his former side last week as the favourites, even if the Motherwell manager stressed yesterday that he considers it an even tie. He had been referring to his club's recent record at Ibrox. Motherwell have not won at the ground since 1997, when McCall himself was at Rangers. "The best players were sitting in the stand," he grinned. "I was injured."Individuals might shudder, and Darren Randolph has conceded 29 goals in nine appearances against the Ibrox side. Rangers are not a typical third division club, and their transfer strategy during the summer was to try to sign Premier League-quality players. Most top-flight managers would, after all, envy Ally McCoist for capturing Ian Black, Dean Shiels and Fran Sandaza. The policy was to build a side capable of beating the leading teams in cup competitions, but McCoist was unable to bring all the players that he identified to the club. A centre-back was expected to replace Carlos Bocanegra, and the centre of defence in particular remains inexperienced.Rangers are in transition, which should be a boon to Motherwell. They may have lost 6-0 and 3-0 under McCall at Ibrox, but the team they faced then was different in almost every aspect to the side that will play tonight. Motherwell, on the other hand, are mostly unchanged, and progress keeps being made."There's got to be a belief with the way we've been playing away from home recently," McCall said. "Everyone's confident, when possibly in the past, going to Ibrox has been something to dread. Some of the players have maybe been fearing it, but now they're looking forward to it. It is a psychological thing, [but] drawing 0-0 at Ibrox last season gives us confidence."McCall and Kenny Black, his assistant, watched Rangers lose to Queen of the South on penalties in the Ramsdens Cup last week. They would have identified several weaknesses in a drab performance, but other factors have to be taken into consideration. The home players will be roused by the prospect of playing a side from the top flight, while the atmosphere in general is likely to be intensified.Many Rangers supporters remain aggravated by the way fans of SPL clubs lobbied against their side during the summer. Even if Motherwell followers were not among the leading agitators, the mood at Ibrox will be impassioned. That kind of high-spirited tone can disrupt players' composure, but recent performances have left an underlying anxiety among the Rangers fans that Motherwell could take advantage of."We've got to play the way we're capable of playing and, if we were to get the first goal, then the crowd might be more tense," McCall said. "If they get a head of steam up and get the crowd behind them, it's like a 12th man, but it can work against them. There's a little edge to it, but we've just not to get caught up in it. They'll be looking forward to it. They've had a bit of a kicking and it's a chance for them to stand up. We've got a relatively young team, and they've got some young kids, so it might be which youngsters cope best with the atmosphere and pressure."The tie is a chance for Motherwell to assert their worth. A positive result would be a fillip before they face Celtic and Dundee United ahead of the international break. It is a series of fixtures that demands a team reveal its full potential."We expect a siege mentality, it was always going to be that way if Rangers got an SPL club," McCall said. "They will be really up for it, so we need to make sure our players are ready and don't get caught up in the atmosphere."

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Belief key for McCall ahead of Ibrox test

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