David Murray, the Rangers chairman, last night hailed new manager Alex McLeish for smashing his club's hoodoo against Old Firm rivals Celtic but warned him there will be no funds made available to him to invest in the transfer market until the summer.

He watched his club prevail on television and insisted that the win, following five consecutive derby defeats, had been long overdue. He said: ''It's rather strange because in previous games we had all the pressure and they had the breaks whereas on Tuesday it was perhaps the other way round.

''What pleased me was the fact that, the longer the game went on, the more energy we showed. Our boys showed a passion to win it and, while we were edgy initially because they seem to have had an Indian sign over us in recent times, I believe this win will help us in the long run.

''It was a night for honest endeavour rather than pretty football. It was good for us, and for Alex, to get that monkey off our backs and, over the piece, I thought we deserved it.''

However, Murray made it clear that this season's transfer budget has already been used up by

former coach Dick Advocaat and that McLeish, two months into his new post, will need to wait until the close season before making his first signing.

''If we'd brought in more new players you wouldn't have seen the likes of Stephen Hughes and Maurice Ross in the first team,'' he said. ''There is no quick fix. We'll make new signings in the summer but not in the short term.

''We have options in the shape of Christian Nerlinger and

Russell Latapy and our players have proved themselves. Murray Park is giving them the chance to hone their skills quicker than they would have before.''

Craig Moore is expected to be sidelined for at least three weeks as a result of the hamstring strain sustained in the win over Celtic.

Rangers can improve, Page 34