BUTCHER ON WALLACE
Big Terry reckons Lee still has place at Ibrox
FORMER Rangers captain Terry Butcher last night insisted that Lee Wallace still has a future at Ibrox under manager Steven Gerrard.
Wallace and his former team-mate Kenny Miller this week won their appeal against the disciplinary action the Glasgow club took against them towards the end of last season.
The pair were fined and suspended for their role in an alleged dressing-room bust-up after the William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Celtic at Hampden in April.
However, an independent tribunal found the sanctions against the vastly-experienced Scotland internationalists had been unfair.
Rangers are currently considering the findings – which are detailed in a 40-page document – before deciding how to respond.
Miller left the Ibrox club in the summer when his contract expired and is now playing for Ladbrokes Premiership club Dundee after a brief spell as player/ manager at Livingston.
But many suspect the appearance that Wallace made against Motherwell at Fir Park last month, when he came on as an injury-time replacement for Ovie Ejaria, may have been his last in a light blue jersey.
He was stripped of the Rangers captaincy in the summer and wasn’t included in their 25-man squad for the Europa League group stages this week.
Yet, the left-back, who only turned 31 last month, remains determined to force his way into Gerrard’s plans in the coming months.
He has now recovered from the persistent groin injury that had sidelined him since last September and is back in full training at Auchenhowie.
There had been speculation that Wallace may be used as a makeweight in the deal to bring Kyle Lafferty to Rangers from Hearts last month or sent out on loan.
Neither of those possibilities, though, were put to the former Tynecastle defender, who is in the final year of his contract.
Butcher anticipates that Gerrard, his fellow former England captain, will utilise the Scot in the Betfred Cup, Premiership and Scottish Cup going forward.
The Liverpool great has spoken positively about Wallace, describing him as a “leader” and the fact that that he can play for the first team again as “a big positive”.
Butcher, whose signing from Ipswich Town in 1986 helped kick off the Graeme Souness Revolution, is certain his countryman won’t discount Wallace.
“I still think there’s a future for Lee at Rangers,” he said as he looked forward to joining his old England team-mate Paul Gascoigne at a dinner in Glasgow tomorrow evening.
“Steven Gerrard wasn’t involved in the disciplinary action. It had nothing to do with him, it was to do with the club and Lee Wallace.
“All Steven Gerrard will look at I’m sure is what Lee can give him as a player, what he can give the football club as a player and as a person.
“Yeah, he’s not the captain any more, but he’s still a good player and he’s still a player who’s worthy of being in the squad. That will be it as far as Steven’s concerned.
“Lee Wallace has the opportunity now to not so much wipe the slate clean, but to go forward with his career and to put this well and truly in the past.
“I think Steven Gerrard will say: ‘It’s gone, history, whatever happened happened, it had nothing to do with me, as far as I’m concerned it’s about what you do now and in the future, not history’.”
New signings Borna Barisic and Jon Flanagan were both named in the Rangers squad for their Europa League group games against Rapid Vienna,
Spartak Moscow and Villarreal on Wednesday.
Versatile defender-cum-midfielder Andy Halliday can also operate at left-back and did so against Maribor in Slovenia last month.
However, Butcher feels the fact that no announcement had been made by the SPFL about the outcome of the tribunal when the squad was submitted may have been a factor in Wallace’s omission.
The former Motherwell, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Hibernian manager is confident that Gerrard will be keen to call on a player of Wallace’s ability and experience.
“No, Lee hasn’t been included in the Europa League squad,” he said. “But at the time the appeal against the disciplinary action was undecided, the investigation was still ongoing.
“Would he be in the right mental state? I’m not so sure. I can’t second guess what Steven Gerard is thinking, but I am sure he hasn’t shut the door, he hasn’t frozen him out. Lee is somebody who I am sure Steven will turn to if he needs to.”
Butcher is looking forward to catching up with another Rangers legend in Glasgow tomorrow evening – his former England team-mate Paul Gascoigne.
“It should be a great night,” he said. “We have got some great stories about the times we had together. We had a few great laughs.
“When you remember playing with somebody like that, a fantastic talent and a great character, it always brings a smile to your lips. What a player he was. It was an absolute privilege to play with him.
“To be in the England squad with him at the World Cup in Italy in 1990 was something special, something that will live with me forever.”
“A lot of the time at Italia ’90 he was a pain in the neck because he was hyperactive. I am looking forward to hearing some of his stories and being with him again. He is a good company.”
■ For tickets to An Evening with Paul Gascoigne and Friends at the Hilton Glasgow tomorrow evening call 07725 850915 or go to www. thelongestforty.com