IAN BLACK complaining about the ferocity of some tackling is a bit like Malcolm Tucker getting upset about the excessive use of foul language.
Just like The Thick of It's sweary spin doctor, Black has cultivated a reputation as a feisty figure not afraid to get stuck in, sometimes excessively so.
With the midfielder now playing in the Irn-Bru Third Division with Rangers, it seems the boot is, quite literally, on the other foot.
Black has struggled to make his mark this term, but his opponents have had no such problem. A raking kung-fu challenge by Stirling Albion's Gary Thom left Black with stud marks all across his chest, while John Kane of Clyde also made a telling impact last weekend – just above Black's eye. Having played against Highland League and Junior sides earlier in his career, Black is no stranger to the physical side of the game, but believes the treatment being dished out this year has been excessively robust and the refereeing lenient.
"I knew it was going to be tough," he said. "But it doesn't help when people are coming in with studs at head height and the referee isn't doing anything about it. Sometimes there are tackles going in that, if it was the SPL, you would get banned and done for assault.
"I think the referees are just waving play on unless you react and maybe then the boy will get a booking. I don't mind that, but when there are a couple of overboard ones, referees have to stand up and say, 'hold on, that's enough'.
"I have 100% noticed a difference: they get away with murder down there [ in the third division], compared to the SPL. I got a straight-legger that burst my strip right up on my chest at Stirling. The boy got a booking. Then I got a straight-legger in the face at the weekend. I've been sent off for stupid, nothing tackles. I just find it strange. It takes me back to my junior days."
Black feels the match officials have been inconsistent with their decision-making, adding that perhaps that is the reason they are operating in the bottom tier. "If they're giving [players] leeway, well, I could have lost an eye at the weekend. You can't make allowances. If people are giving them leeway then they shouldn't be refereeing games.
"You hear about referees, they get promoted and they get demoted for their performances. Maybe that's why they're refereeing in that league, because they're not handling the decisions right. I've had five bookings in a row for nothing this season." It is not just referees and opposition players that Black has fallen foul of this season. He shared a heated exchange with some Rangers supporters during the Clyde game and now regrets his reaction, even if he still feels the criticism "doesn't help".
"I just heard a few people upset in the crowd and it was a bit of immaturity from me to react," he said. "The fans are great, although they understandably get uptight when things don't come off. But it doesn't help when they get on your back while you're trying to make things happen.
"You just have to deal with that, though, and I shouldn't have reacted. I've learned from it and I'll just blank it out now, and hopefully get on with making them happier."
Black was often a dominant figure in the Hearts midfield last season but has been noticeably less influential as a Rangers player. 'I think I've dealt with the expectation fine, it's now just a case of reaching the form I know I can," he said.
"It seems to be taking its time, but I didn't have a pre-season, so I was just thrown in at the deep end. But I am getting there, hopefully, back to the form of the last couple of seasons."
It is not just Black who has struggled to perform to the standards expected. Rangers' 3-0 defeat by Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Scottish Communities League Cup in midweek, while not entirely unexpected, has heaped further pressure on Ally McCoist and his players.
Next up is the visit of Alloa Athletic in the third round of the Scottish Cup this afternoon and McCoist admitted: "We've got to beat Alloa. We have to have our name in the hat for the next round. It's a home game in the cup against a team we're certainly looking to beat and I know our supporters will want that too."
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