Reasons To Be Cheerful - Don't Let Phony War Take Shine Off Good Start

Last updated : 10 August 2007 By Little Boy Blue
A tricky European tie negotiated with the minimum of fuss and a long
overdue victory over Caley Thistle - with three clean
sheets too! - have put the spring back in this old
codger's step and I refuse to allow the ritually
offended Hack Pack to intrude on my quiet
satisfaction.

No, we are not the finished article, far from it and,
apart from the Blues Brothers love-in a couple of
weeks ago, I have yet to get off my seat to applaud
the quality of our play. Mind you, I'm told I came
mighty close to spilling a drink or two while standing
at the bar of the Letham Hotel around 8.40 on Tuesday
night. Get in there!

But these early games might so easily have gone
against us - can't you feel certain 'experts' angst
that they have not? - and, modest though these
successes have been, they have given us a wee lift and
something to build on, a solid platform to prepare for
the more difficult challenges which lie ahead. We can
sense the players beginning to believe in each other,
which would certainly not be the case if we had
stumbled through this first week of the season.

We all expect Red Star Belgrade to be much sterner
opposition but I have to say I was far from impressed
by what I saw of them against Levadia Tallin. There
are a few Bears who are still somewhat unconvinced by
Allan McGregor's presence between the sticks. Hey, if
you thought Zeta's keeper was bad, wait till you see
Ivan Randjelovic. I had him marked down as an
accident waiting to happen so I was feeling pretty
pleased with myself when he went walkabout and
Levadia's Nahk chipped him from inside the centre
circle. That made it 2-1 with just over 20 minutes
left and Red Star were under a lot of pressure but, as
Tallin pushed more men forward towards the end, the
visitors did miss a few chances to kill the tie on the
break.

They are not the Red Star Belgrade of old, there may
be a few useful players in their side but nothing we
should be afraid of. If we have ambitions to rub
shoulders with the big boys in the Champions League,
we should be able to take care of Red Star. Put it
this way, I'd rather face them than tangle with
Spartak Moscow. Tee-hee.

While on the subject of Champions League
qualification, the financial implications of failure
to make it have been well documented. It is the only
place to be, although I'm afraid I must take issue
with Ian Murray over his comments in our Zeta
programme, about it being vital that BOTH Old Firm
sides get through to the moneybags stages. Talk of a
£10 million jackpot is well wide of the mark because,
if both clubs qualify, the TV dosh will be split
accordingly and with our debt on the rise again -
whatever happened to 'debt free in a year'? - we don't
want to share revenue with anyone, least of all our
fiercest rivals who would gladly see us driven into
the ground.

So wise-up Ian, spare us all that guff about 'the
greater good of Scottish football'. Read the papers
in the wake of recent events and listen to the
smart-arsed comments in the pub or on the radio
phone-ins. Our enemies are positively drooling at the
mouth at the very notion of Rangers in trouble, on or
off the park, so why should we give a toss about any
other club? Murray-speak, whether in the boardroom or
the dressing-room, undermines our great club. Rangers
first and foremost, at all times!

Without setting the heather on fire, the Gers have had
a solid look to them, thanks mainly to things being
relatively tight at the back, with the introduction of
Carlos Cuellar being a master stroke by Walter. The
big fella certainly looks the part, whether
challenging in the air, getting in a tackle on the
ground or bringing the ball out at his feet, yet
already I detect a mood of panic on the FF
Messageboard at the prospect of Carlos doing a
Boumsong and heading for the Premiership in January.
FFS guys, lets enjoy him while we have him. If he is
the top quality defender I reckon him to be, it is
only natural that others will take note. But if we're
in the driving seat in the SPL and still involved in
the Champions League, he should be happy enough with
things, confident that at 26 he has time on his side
before making that really big move.

This has to be our aim. Maintain the good start, kick
the season into gear both at home and in Europe and
all those silly wee stories, about players being
unhappy with this and that or of somebody or other
attracting attention from elsewhere, will be rather
thin on the ground. Yes, our 'friends' in the Press
will always look to stir it up here or there but, just
as it has been this past week, they mustn't be allowed
to upset the team. A winning team is a happy team
and, by all accounts, Walter has given short shrift to
any - or one bitter muppet in particular! - who sought
to turn the focus away from the football.

All eyes and ears will be on Ibrox this weekend, with
microphones no doubt strategically placed to pick up
any naughties, but it is the team and their efforts
which should by the main attraction. With all due
respect to St. Mirren, who did manage a draw in PLG's
last game at Ibrox, they should not be able to stand
in our way. The fixture list has been relatively kind
to use and I reckon it is not asking too much that
Rangers gather maximum points prior to the trip to
Tynecastle in mid-September. In fact, I'll be very
disappointed if we do not take a 100% record into and
beyond the first Old Firm clash of the season.

So we should all be happy with the lie of the land at
this particular point in time. A lot of very
difficult hurdles, both on and off the field, stand
between us and the success we seek but, with three
home games over the next week or so, it is hardly
being over-optimistic to look for another three
victories - and another three clean sheets too! - as
the shape of this new season begins look clearer. And
three rousing Ibrox occasions, with all our
traditional anthems (minus the afters) filling the
air, would be a major statement that the fans and the
team are on the same wavelength, depriving our enemies
of mischief-making opportunities

LITTLE BOY BLUE