McALLISTER WANTS GERS’ VIRUS-HIT STARS BACK FOR SUNDAY’S OLD FIRM GAME
McAllister says Gers want their vaccinated Covid-hit stars back for Old Firm crunch
GARY McALLISTER led a Covid-ravaged Rangers squad to Armenia last night – then claimed some missing men could be back in time for Sunday’s Old Firm showdown.
McAllister will take charge of the team this afternoon for a crunch Europa League play-off second leg against minnows
Alashkert, while manager Steven Gerrard and a list of key players remain at home self-isolating after a coronavirus outbreak in the camp.
Neither veteran keeper Allan McGregor nor understudy Jon McLaughlin made the five-hour flight yesterday lunchtime, with skipper James Tavernier also left behind along with talisman Ryan Kent and first-leg hero Scott Wright.
McAllister has had to draft in a bunch of B team kids in order to fill up the numbers but should still be able to field a strong starting XI.
And he hinted heavily last night that Rangers expect health chiefs to allow anyone who has been doubled dosed with a vaccine and who passes a CPR test to be allowed back into the squad for the first Glasgow derby of the season.
Asked if players may be back in time for the visit from Ange Postecoglou’s side, McAllister said: “‘Yeah. You’ve got to be mindful of the fact that, now that we’ve moved on and a lot of the people in and around our club are double vaccinated, there are advantages.
“So we will be looking at that. Things will be changing as we speak.”
And when asked if Rangers top brass have already looked into the possibility of being granted such a green light by officials, he said: “I’m sure all the medical people at our club are all over that.
“As we pass information to the governing bodies, we will be getting guided by them as well.
“Things have been unfolding in the last immediate days and we are adapting as we’ve moved along.
“We have arrived here in Armenia now and the focus turns to the job in hand.
“We get this game out of the way, hopefully we get the right result and proceed into the group stage. And we can then turn our attention to the game at the weekend. We come here fully focused on getting the job done.”
McAllister – who looks set to hand 23-year-old keeper Robby McCrorie a baptism of fire – also revealed that Gerrard will use modern technology to deliver a virtual team talk to his players.
He said: “The messaging will remain the same.
“All the presentations will remain the same.
“All his messaging will definitely get across to the players. Michael Beale is here for all the coaching aspects and tactical awareness for the players to take on board before the game.
“It will be reinforced by myself and then the manager will probably speak prior to the game as well. We are in constant contact with Steven.
“We are the lucky ones who are here, who can affect the result and we have to try to get the result for the guys back in the UK.
“We feel we’ve got a strong squad. We’ve got strength in depth.
“Not only have we been affected by Covid issues, we’ve been affected by suspensions.
“We’ve had some niggly injuries in and around players, so the start of the season has been hampered by that.
“All these little things look like excuses.
“But these are things you have to adapt to.
“We have to utilise and use our squad. And players who are now in the team have to go and grasp the opportunity.
“When you see the team on Thursday, you’ll look at it and go, ‘That team could play in most games’.”