THINK of Ian Black and the moments of his Rangers career that have attracted most attention.
Betting against his own team seems a reasonable place to start. He backed East Stirling to draw at Ibrox last April as part of an accumulator. It was one of 160 wagers that landed him a 10-game ban from the Scottish Football Association, seven of those suspended.
Having a go at his own supporters raised a few eyebrows too. Rangers had only just scraped a 1-1 draw with £20-a-week part-timers Albion Rovers in the cup last season, thanks to a late Bilel Mohsni goal that could easily have been disallowed. Reacting to understandable howls of anger from the stands, he asked: "What else do they want?"
Laughing at Dundee United fans and threatening to throw the corner flag at them on the way off the park after being red-carded in a dismal 3-0 Scottish Cup defeat didn't exactly go down a storm either. Black, as footballers often tend to do, wrote it off as "banter" and "a bit of a laugh".
There were complaints from many inside Ibrox over the treatment he allegedly received from opponents as Rangers made their way through the bottom two divisions. His own disciplinary record, though, was hardly whiter-than-white.
Like him or loathe him, Black certainly seems to have taken time to come to terms with the peculiarities of playing for a club such as Rangers. Every word and action is examined in fine detail. Standards have to be observed. Someone really should have taken him into a quiet room and explained this at the beginning.
Black conceded in the wake of his SFA suspension that he was fortunate to keep his job and, indeed, he was. He has not shown anything like the form he enjoyed during an excellent spell at Hearts and, not altogether surprisingly, found himself starting four straight matches on the substitutes' bench last month.
His manager, Ally McCoist, although he would never say as much, must hope the decision to leave him out of the team has been the wake-up call the 29-year-old needed.
Since returning to the line-up, there has been an improvement in his displays. He remains capable of an awful lot more, of course, but there are at least some indications he may be able to put a more positive spin on his time at Rangers in the final year of his current contract.
"Blackie's performances in the last couple of games have been very good," said McCoist. "He's one of these players who causes comment, whether in the media or in supporters' clubs, but we have been delighted with him. There's a lot of stuff that comes with the package that is Ian Black. No-one more than me knows this is a very difficult place to play football.
"If you are successful, it's the best place in the world, but a lot of players have found it extremely difficult.
"I wouldn't have said he found it difficult as such. He's been part of sides that have won two difficult leagues and played his part, but, like most boys who come to the club, they have a reaction to the magnitude of the place. Shock is maybe too strong a word. They realise how different it is playing out there for Rangers than against Rangers. It's not just Ian. A lot of boys need to take that on board, particularly ones who have come in the last couple of years to replace players who represented £30-£40m worth of talent. There is a lot of pressure on them.
"I speak to Ian regularly and I know how hungry he is to do well. He is a competitive player and you see it in five-a-sides. You genuinely enjoy working with boys like that.
"He was injured earlier this season. Where Ian might have come straight back into the team in past seasons, there is more competition and the team had been doing fairly well. There was no reason for anyone to be left out. After the first half against Queen of the South, though, we put Lee McCulloch back to centre-back and Ian returned to the midfield area. We are looking more solid defensively with the skipper going back there and we look better in midfield with Ian coming in. We are creating chances."
However well Rangers happen to play in the coming weeks, though, there seems little chance of the fans flooding back. Only 15,208 turned up for the 1-0 League Cup win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle in midweek with the last two league fixtures against Dumbarton and Queen of the South, both covered by season tickets, attracting just over 31,000.
One supporters' group, Sons of Struth, will also announce results of a survey of their members over a boycott early next week.
"I would argue that 30,000 is still much better if you've been used to playing in front of 4000," remarked McCoist, no stranger to empty stands in the early days of his own time as a player at Ibrox.
Given the general gloom around Ibrox, though, away games, with packed houses and febrile atmospheres, must be something of a release for the players. Today's league business takes place against Alloa Athletic at the newly-christened Indodrill Stadium, still better known as Recreation Park.
"We beat Raith Rovers live on TV with a great crowd and a fantastic pitch," said McCoist. "Inverness was a cup tie with the same scenario, but we're now going somewhere, with the greatest of respect to Alloa, that's not as glamorous-looking from the players' point of view. In all the places we have played over the last two years, the opposition fans have made it hostile for us in a competitive and sporting way, which is great."
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