Lewis Macleod is delighted Rangers do not have a game this weekend because he does not want to miss a single minute of first-team action.
Along with full internationalist Lee Wallace, Honduran Arnold Peralta and Andy Little of Northern Ireland, the Scotland under-21 midfielder is one of four Ibrox players on national team duty this week, a sufficient number to cause the postponement of the club's potential top-of-the-table televised clash against Dunfermline Athletic.
There has been criticism that a club of Rangers' size should require to take such a drastic course of action, but the 19-year-old from Wishaw - part of Billy Stark's squad for the double header against Slovakia in Paisley tonight and Georgia in Tbilisi on Monday - would not have it any other way. "I don't know how it came about or who decided that but I'm happy," said Macleod, "because I won't miss a game now and I'm keen to be involved in them all."
Thankfully the midfielder is making a fairly decent case for his involvement in all matches for club and country in any case, not least with the fine overhead kick which sealed the club's 2-0 win against Ayr United at Somerset Park on Sunday. But not only was the wind taken out of his sails somewhat by the suggestion from opposition manager Mark Roberts that the effort should have been disallowed for dangerous play, he was also subject to a ribbing from his own manager, who had a knack of coming up with acrobatic finishes during his playing days.
"He [McCoist] was pulling my leg, asking if I'd been watching a few of his videos," said Macleod. "But no, I'm conscious of the need for me to add goals. Last year I only scored three. I've four now this season so it's something I've wanted to add to my game. It was definitely one of the best I've scored, though the one I got recently against East Fife would also be right up there."
Rangers have won all eight league games they have played this season, but off the field the picture is not so serene. Supporters have chanted against the board during matches and Walter Smith has warned of further turbulence ahead of what promises to be a combustible annual meeting on October 24. Macleod, however, feels such matters have yet to penetrate the dressing room. "You've got to block everything that's happening off the pitch out because we can't have any impact on what happens there," he said. "It's not hard to focus because there's always going to be something happen outside of football so you just need to ignore it."
Macleod is part of a callow Scotland under-21 squad for the double header, which sees the young Scots hope to atone for recent heavy defeats against England and the Netherlands. With all apologies to the best East Fife, Arbroath and Stenhousemuir have to offer, this is also where players like Macleod are to be judged. "I was only involved in the Holland game for a little while but Marco van Ginkel [of Chelsea] stood out," said Macleod. "Ross Barkley, against England, looked the part too. It was 6-0 when I came on for the last 10 minutes in that game against England and I'm glad it didn't get any worse."
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