WILL THEY MANAGE IT?
How can Lennon win 10? Keep up the momentum, handle the pressure and don’t take title for granted
Stuart McCall knows all about the pressure of taking on 10 in a row and where it can all go wrong.
The Rangers favourite was on the verge of history with Walter Smith’s nine-in-a-row side but felt despair as their bid for glory crashed.
Wim Jansen’s Celtic side stopped the title trail in its tracks in 1998.
Now Steven Gerrard is facing his biggest test – stopping Neil Lennon’s Hoops from claiming 10.
McCall warns he has no margin for error. Celts are clear favourites to make history but former Scotland star McCall insists nothing is certain in football and clever recruitment of men with the right stuff by Stevie G and complacency at Parkhead could make it a season full of intrigue.
The Rangers nine- in- a- row legend should know.
Back in summer 1997, Walter Smith’s men were odds-on to smash the record set by Jock Stein’s sides between 1966-74.
Their squad of serial winners included Ibrox icons Ally McCoist, Richard Gough, Ian Durrant, Ian Ferguson, Andy Goram, Paul Gascoigne and Brian Laudrup as well as McCall.
Owner David Murray also sanctioned 10 new signings, with f ive of them coming from Serie A.
By the end of the year new boy Marco Negri, signed from Perugia, had scored 33 goals in just 26 games and the Light Blues were where they were used to being – on top of the league.
However, Rangers lost their way badly in the second half of that campaign.
McCall argues that the same thing could happen to Celtic.
Manager Neil Lennon, skipper Scott Brown and midfielder Callum McGregor have all spoken about going for the perfect 10 but McCall knows how easily it could slip through their fingers.
“We all thought we could break the record,” admits the Bradford City boss.
“We had the momentum but didn’t get there and, although there were other factors involved, we only had ourselves to blame.
“It was announced at the club’s AGM in
November that Walter would be standing down as manager at the end of the season.
“People point to that as a turning point but I know for a fact that Walter didn’t want that news to come out.
“Normally, we’d make just a couple of key signings during the close season to help with continuity but that summer we were into double figures.
“I think that was done with an eye on Walter leaving and planning for the future because bringing in so many new faces was unheard of.
“Even then, you look at Negri, who scored 23 goals in his first 10 league games and was going like a train until he got hit in the eye with the ball while playing squash just after Christmas.
“How many goals would he have gone on to get if it hadn’t been for that?
“In fairness, Coisty came in for him and he was one of the few players to finish strongly – but he wasn’t scoring at the same rate as Marco had been.
“Lorenzo Amoruso, another new signing, would become an excellent player for the club but he was injured and didn’t make his debut until April so it was another blow.
“However, injuries to key men are part of the game and they could just as easily happen to Celtic next season – you can’t legislate for these things.”
Even allowing for a full treatment room, McCall admits that Rangers blew their chance to make history.
He said: “We were top of the table until the end of February, when we drew at Tynecastle with Hearts, who were also going for the title that year. But we should still have been able to win it.
“Hampden was being renovated so we had to play Celtic in the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup at Parkhead but we beat them 2-1.
“We played them again at Ibrox a week later and this time we won 2- 0.
“There were four league games left and we felt we were on a roll – three wins would have done it for us.
“Unfortunately, we lost 1- 0 at Pittodrie then, after a 3- 0 away win against Hearts, we lost 1- 0 at home to Kilmarnock thanks to a 95th-minute goal by Ally Mitchell.
“Even then, we could still have finished on top if we beat Dundee United at Tannadice on the last day and Celtic slipped up at home to St Johnstone.
“We did our bit but Wim Jansen’s team, who passed up a chance to clinch it at Dunfermline the previous weekend, held their nerve and stopped our run.
“That was down to us – if you lose two of your last four games you don’t deserve to be champions.”
It was down to us – if you lose two of your last four games you don’t deserve to be champs