Former Ranger pairs his old side up with Mechanics, then tells club's new breed that it's time they got out of second gear

Graeme Macpherson

Football Writer

Tuesday 28 August 2012

THE phrase "with friends like these .

Trevor Steven performs yesterday's draw for the second round of the Scottish Cup. Picture: SNS

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Graeme Macpherson

. ." must have crossed Ally McCoist's mind when word reached him yesterday of the draw for the second round of the William Hill Scottish Cup. Campbell Ogilvie, the Scottish Football Association president and a one-time Rangers director, and Trevor Steven, a former team-mate of McCoist's at Ibrox, were the men responsible for pulling the balls out of the hat and landed their old club a tie away to Forres Mechanics.

Given his team's struggles on the road this season, a trip to face the reigning Highland League champions was probably the last thing McCoist would have wanted. Rangers have played four away matches so far this season and won only one inside 90 minutes. There was always going to be a chance that they would find it more difficult on the road than they would at Ibrox, but the assumption was that their superior fitness and ability would still be enough for them to win most matches regardless of venue. It has not turned out that way.The Rangers roadshow rolled into Berwick-upon-Tweed on Sunday and the outcome was more of the same, the wee Rangers perhaps unfortunate not to produce a victory to match their famous shock success of 1967 when they sent their Glasgow namesakes tumbling out of the Scottish Cup. Steven believes Rangers need to adapt quickly to their new surroundings or face further embarrassment on their travels."Rangers need to raise their game for these occasions," he said. "They didn't do that on Sunday and Berwick got a deserved result and could have had more. It's a concern for Ally until it's rectified. With the nice pitches at the moment, you'd have thought it would have suited Rangers down to the ground. As they get worse it will become even more difficult."Ally will be addressing it. His team have to be more aggressive in how they go about their game. They must apply themselves, affect the game and not wait for results to happen. Winning at home should be straightforward. But it's about the players individually raising their own standards for these 'cup ties' on their travels. At small grounds, when they're overwhelming favourites, it's difficult."Rangers were 1/25 to win the third division at the start of the season and Steven believes his former club should still comfortably finish as champions if they show greater application and commitment on the road. "I think they will win the league as their home form will carry them a long way," he added. "But their performances need to be better away from home. If they can raise a good percentage from what they showed at Berwick the other day they shouldn't have any problems. They have enough players in the squad with potential and quality but they have to prove themselves and live with the expectation and the pressure."These are peculiar circumstances. I've played at a lot of smaller grounds in English and Scottish Cup ties. It's not something I'd like to be doing every second week – but it is what it is for Rangers. That's the reality and the sooner the players react to that the better. They have to get used to the demands of being a Rangers player. Supporters want them to win, whatever league they're in. You have to win. And to do that it takes a certain type of mentality. Some players will grow into that and I think that's what some of the Rangers players have to do."McCoist has chosen to take a number of young foreign players on trial as he looks to augment his squad before the start of a year-long transfer embargo. Steven, who works as an agent, could not understand the logic for doing so but trusted McCoist's judgment."I can't see why Ally's gone down that route. It's higher risk but it's also depends on how much he is paying salary-wise for players. Sometimes you want players who have experience of the country and the league and you can depend on them. But Ally's having to make decisions pretty quickly so he has to take a risk or two."

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Former Ranger pairs his old side up with Mechanics, then tells club's new breed that it's time they got out of second gear

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