Poisoned chalice as neither team wants favourites tag

Michael Grant

Chief football writer

Wednesday 26 September 2012

H ISTORY will be made at Ibrox tonight when points are scored in a cup tie.

Rangers will view Motherwell as a prize scalp

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Michael Grant

There wouldn't be anything unusual about Rangers facing Motherwell in the third round of the Scottish Communities League Cup in any run-of-the-mill season, but this third-round tie carries an obvious wider significance. It is the first time Rangers have faced a top-flight club since they lost their own place among the elite. Chief executive Charles Green may have said Motherwell would be welcome at Ibrox tonight but, as a representative of a division generally held in contempt by Rangers, they will feel plenty of heat from the stands.

Manager Ally McCoist can have no animosity towards a team led by his close friend, Stuart McCall, but Rangers harbour resentment and a sense of injustice about how the SPL clubs voted not to accept their newco's application to enter the top division and those feelings will swirl around tonight's game. To defeat the team which sits unbeaten at the top of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League would be immeasurably satisfying for McCoist and those associated with the Ibrox club.The context of the match is one thing, the actual football another. More intriguing than the reception Motherwell will get is what kind of a challenge they will face on the pitch. No-one can be too sure of that. McCoist and captain Lee McCulloch were at pains to stress that Motherwell were favourites during their pre-match media briefing yesterday – their eagerness to repeat the claim hinted strongly at a pre-meditated effort to hammer the message home – but that was contradicted by all the bookmakers whose odds show they expect Rangers to win. "Very occasionally, the bookmakers get it wrong," said McCoist.What is certainly true is that the severe deterioration in the quality of Rangers' squad has not yet been highlighted by exposure to one of the best teams in the country. Rangers will surely play with far more focus and urgency than they have in sluggish displays against Peterhead, Berwick Rangers, Annan Athletic and Queen of the South. They still have a nucleus of experienced players and a large and vociferous crowd will make things tough for Motherwell. Against all of that, there has been plenty of evidence that some of the players now filling Rangers shirts are deeply ordinary and vulnerable to being caught out by the tougher interrogation they will be subjected to.Rangers were bundled out of the Ramsdens Cup at Ibrox only last week and there have been humblings in the league. McCulloch revealed that the older heads in the squad had forcibly made it clear to the other factions – the foreign imports and the younger players – that those results were unacceptable. "There are things that have gone on in the dressing room that we don't want to discuss in public," said McCulloch. "But the boys aren't happy at how things have gone. We know it's unacceptable." McCoist regarded any conflict as a sign of his players' competitiveness. "Absolutely. Some of the best fights, for the benefit of the club, I'm not involved in. Sometimes it's a good thing to just shut the door on the way out [and let them get on with it] . . ."You could argue that the Rangers team just now has maybe the hardest job of any Rangers team ever. We're asking this group of players to get us back to where we firmly believe we should be, which is the top level of Scottish football. It's a difficult job with 80% of the players who don't really know the club or don't really know what it's like to play on a regular basis for Rangers' first team. But they will do it. I firmly believe they will get us back to where we belong."There is an edge to this game because it's our first opportunity to play against a team from the top flight. That's all it is. I do appreciate the edge to it because it will give us a wee indication of where we are. "If you look at our team, look at where we are now, look at where we were, look at who we're playing – the team at the top of the SPL – I genuinely believe we're second favourites. But we can beat Motherwell. Absolutely. We do not have a team right now that would win the SPL but, hopefully, three or four years down the line, our younger boys will have developed and we can bring other players in. There probably is a bit of pressure on Motherwell. When was the last time Motherwell came to Ibrox and were favourites?"

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Poisoned chalice as neither team wants favourites tag

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