THROWN TO THE GARBAGE
Murty deserving of more respect from Rangers, says Rodgers
CELTIC boss Brendan Rodgers believes Graeme Murty has been ‘thrown to the garbage’ by crisis club Rangers.
The Ibrox interim manager has come under huge pressure after two crushing Old Firm defeats over the past fortnight.
Liverpool icon Steven Gerrard is expected to be announced as the new Rangers boss this week — with it unclear whether former Under-20s coach Murty will remain in place for the final three games of the season.
And Rodgers is adamant Murty has been treated ‘discourteously’ by his employers after he stepped up to the top job for a second time following the sacking of Pedro Caixinha.
‘There’s a lot of speculation around Steven
Gerrard, but I’m reluctant to talk about it too much purely because Graeme Murty has been put in a job,’ said Rodgers. ‘Last year, he was the Under-20s coach who everyone was talking about. He’s a good guy and it was going well. ‘And now, because of a couple of defeats and it hasn’t quite worked out, he’s just been thrown to the garbage. I think it’s very, very discourteous. ‘The guy has gone in there and done his very best in, what looks from the outside, very trying and difficult circumstances.’ After losing 3-2 to ten-man Celtic at Ibrox in March, Murty’s side were hammered 4-0 in the Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden on April 15, with Kenny Miller and Lee Wallace suspended by the club following an alleged dressing-room bust-up. But it got worse for Murty and Rangers on Sunday as a 5-0 filleting at Parkhead saw Rodgers’ men seal seven-in-a-row. In a bid to boost season ticket renewals, Rangers chairman Dave King wrote to fans prior to the semi-final, praising Murty’s work but failing to offer any assurances on his future. The build-up to Sunday’s match then saw Murty undermined once again by Rangers entering into talks with Gerrard. Rodgers believes Murty has been thrown under the bus by the Ibrox side. ‘As you build for big games, your focus should be on the field and I’m disappointed for him (Murty) that it wasn’t the case,’ Rodgers told talkSPORT. ‘If the background noise isn’t there, you can focus on the game. ‘So what that guy has had to go through in the build-up to big games, I have really felt for him. ‘He goes into the role and does a real good job in stabilising it. He then gets asked to come in and do it again. ‘What seems to be happening is you get thrown below the bus. But this is a guy who has done everything he possibly can. I have real empathy for him.’