A WAR of words broke out between Stenhousemuir and Rangers last night ahead of today's League 1 encounter at Ochilview, after John Gemmell, the part-time side's striker, used Twitter to vent his anger over Ally McCoist's complaints about the SPFL's choice of date for the rearranged fixture.
With the originally scheduled match postponed on December 16 due to high winds, Rangers had hoped to have the fixture re-arranged for a free midweek, only to be forced to play today, Stenhousemuir's preferred date.
McCoist used his pre-match press conference to protest about being forced to play a third away game in a week, and a fourth game altogether in 11 days, but his comments were given short shrift by Gemmell on the social networking site.
Rangers, of course, boast a full-time squad which is the envy of the rest of the league, as well as holding a double-figures advantage on the rest of the table, and beat the same opponents 8-0 in September.
Gemmell tweeted: "McCoist is a p***k, game against Stenny should be midweek?... Why, so we are f****d after working all day whilst your boys can lie and get a massage for three days before checking that their £5k a week wages are in? Away and f**k off #Embarrassing."
"I feel sorry for our fans," McCoist had said a day earlier. "It's incredible - Dunfermline on a Monday night, Airdrie on a Thursday, Stenhousemuir on a Sunday. At least they've got Forfar on a Monday to look forward to.
"We had our say but it shows you how much they listen to us. Different initials but the same old story with the way our club has been treated."
The row will give an edge to events on the artificial surface today. Rangers' Bilel Mohsni is suspended having been sent off after the final whistle at New Broomfield earlier in the week, and Lewis Macleod is doubtful with a calf injury.
l Eyes on the rise, page 10
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