Buying into the big adventure

Richard Wilson

Sports writer

Saturday 15 September 2012

The mere act of looking ahead is progress for Rangers.

Lee Wallace decided to stay at Ibrox and has now extended his contract until 2017. Picture: SNS

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Richard Wilson

There was a time when nobody at Ibrox could be sure that the club had a future, and now players are committing themselves to long-term service. There was such upheaval at Rangers during the summer that the ordinary routine of contract extensions has come to seem significant to those involved.

Lewis MacLeod, Barrie McKay and Robbie Crawford pledged their futures to the club during the week. The decisions must have been straightforward for three teenagers who have become regulars in the first team, but McKay in particular was already attracting attention from other clubs. Lee Wallace could have left Rangers along with the other players of international pedigree who chose not to have their contracts transferred during the summer, but yesterday signed until 2017.Wallace recently became a father. He might have no wish to disturb the family life, but Wallace will also have assumed that the club will be back in the top flight by 2017. For those in the midst of the summer's turmoil, getting there is a welcome challenge."We are certainly in a better place than we were two or three months ago," said Ally McCoist, the Rangers manager. "But we're still not where we want to be. There will be times when things don't go according go to plan and we'll maybe not be just as lucky as we were at Berwick, for example, with the goal being disallowed at the end. Two months ago, we didn't like to think about it but there was a big question mark about whether or not the club would survive. So the fact that we're back playing, in front of full houses home and away, is a massive step on the way back."Rangers continue to be seen as a source of drama. A German camera crew interviewed McCoist at Murray Park yesterday, and most of the games this season have attracted foreign journalists. The sharp decline is inevitably newsworthy, but there is amazement, too, at the response of the Rangers fans. The fact that 36,000 season tickets have bee sold, and most home games have been near-sell outs, has made headlines across the world, when in Scotland it has mostly been taken for granted. Few clubs can rely on such sustained commitment, and there are occasional quirks, like the fan who reportedly bought a season ticket for Annan Athletic to ensure that he would see both of Rangers' games at Galabank."There is something not right about it, but I love it," McCoist said. "We are just starting out on this journey but people are taking an interest and I hope they follow the story and the resurgence of the club."Rangers are yet to impress in an away game this season and the pitch at Galabank is narrow and synthetic. Experience is a useful commodity, but there is little comfort when the captain, Lee McCulloch, has never played competitively on an artificial surface."We have all played in small grounds, so it is a bit disrespectful to say it has been a culture shock," McCulloch said. "It comes down to the players taking responsibility, to start the game as a battle, with a high tempo and just carry it through. But in the away games we have scored first. It's as if we've thought: 'Oh well, that's it', instead of going for the second and third goals."It is 12 months since McCoist sent out a team at Ibrox that defeated Celtic 4-2, yet none of the players who started the game are still at the club. Instead, he sees only the growing relationships of a new squad. "I can see a camaraderie forming, which is very important because it's all new to them," he said. "There will be hiccups along the way. I'm ready for them, and a lot of people are waiting on them. It's part of the adventure we're on."

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Buying into the big adventure

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