The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Gers fans given McLeish warning
Alex McLeish has warned Rangers not to get too cocky after they avoided the Europa League big guns.
Steven Gerrard’s team could have faced a battle of Britain against the likes of Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur or Arsenal in the last-16 draw.
They could also have landed a two-leg showdown with continental kings such as AC Milan or Ajax.
But there was relief among the Light Blues faithful after seeing their team pulled out of the hat to play Czech champions Slavia Prague.
The Gers support will see it as another winnable tie for the Light Blues after they blitzed their way past Royal Antwerp 9-5 on aggregate.
But former
Ibrox manager McLeish insists Jindrich Trpisovsky’s side should not to be underestimated ahead of the first leg at the Sinobo Stadium on March 11.
Like Gerrard’s team, the Red and Whites have yet to suffer defeat in their domestic league this season and created a major shock when they dumped Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester City out of the competition on Thursday night.
McLeish has also been impressed by a youth academy that has helped rear West Ham stars Vladimir Coufal and Tomas Soucek.
And while the ex-Gers boss – who in 2006 became the first man to lead a Scottish team to the Champions League knockout stage – believes Rangers are capable of marching on to the quarter-finals, he insists it will not be the walk in the park some fans predict.
He said: “Slavia Prague have done well and you think of the result against Leicester, which was amazing.
“I think everybody will be looking at it and thinking ‘Slavia Prague are not one of the big names’.
“You think of the two boys at West Ham that Davie Moyes signed, that looks like fantastic recruitment as well.
“There is an emergence there. In saying that, Rangers have handled everything so far and if Slavia Prague are the best team left in the tournament I will be surprised.
“If the draw falls right for Rangers then there is no saying how it is all going to end up. There are superb teams left in the competition and Rangers have done their job up until now. Now they will face bigger tests.
“I think Rangers will go into it with the same diligence they did against the previous opponents. It was like a five-a-side game on Thursday night against Antwerp, it was end-to-end.
“The first leg was a sevengoal thriller and then Thursday night was the same. It was two teams going at it hammer and tongs. I think there will be a bit of euphoria in terms of the draw but let’s not get carried away and say this will be an easy draw.”
Manchester United will face AC Milan, Arsenal drew the team that knocked them out last season, Olympiakos, and Tottenham take on Dinamo Zagreb.
James McPake admits Dundee need to make the most of a hectic schedule that will see them play eight games in just 28 days.
The Dark Blues have recently had a string of bad weather postponements and saw their game against Ayr called off for the fourth time on Tuesday.
They now face a fixture pile-up, starting today at Morton then continuing throughout March.
However, McPake is certain his players can cope with the gruelling demands that will be placed on them as they look to return to winning ways at Cappielow after successive defeats that have knocked the side out of the promotion playoff spots.
The Dens boss said: “It’s all right having games in hand but it is what you do with them.
“We need to put points on the board. We need to be in the play-offs at least – that is a minimum at this football club.
“We are outwith them at the minute. Now some of that is down to poor results like last Saturday but a big bit is down to games not getting played.
“The games will now come thick and fast. We need to make the most of it and that starts at Morton.
“We have to go down there and come back with a positive result.
“We have worked hard all week since we knew the Ayr game was off and the big thing for me is that we are creating loads and loads of chances to win games of football.
“So if we can tidy up both ends of the pitch, not as individuals, but as a team, then we will give ourselves a right good chance.
“It is a hectic schedule going through the month of March and it is an exciting month for the players as there are going to be loads of games.”
McPake insisted he is confident his squad can play twice a week for the foreseeable future.
The manager added: “We have a really hectic schedule but that isn’t going to be an issue.
“We have a big enough squad and we have players who are used to playing Saturday/Tuesday, particularly the ones who have played in England.
“I think if you ask the players, they would rather play in midweek than train anyway.
“That’s what they live for – playing games. It is frustrating as you do all the work but then the game is called off.
“However, we have pressing matters Morton away first.”
The Greenock side have not won for eight games but McPake believes they will have been boosted by drawing 1-1 at the home of runaway league leaders Hearts last week.
He added: “Morton will have a bounce from the Hearts game. To go to Tynecastle and pick up anything is a good result.
“They were leading for a while and they will probably be disappointed.
“Hearts had loads of chances but Morton stood firm and defended well to come away with a point. more with
“They will see that as a positive result and they also now have a chance to leapfrog us in the table.
“So they will be looking at that and that will be their aim for this weekend. It is something we have to stop.”
McPake will still be without long-term injured Jordan McGhee and Alex Jakubiak at Morton but there is light at the end of the tunnel for both of them.
McPake said: “McGhee is still a while away but he is out of the sling so he is just working in the gym on certain stuff.
“Jakubiak sees the surgeon on Monday, hopefully to get signed off to go into the end-stage rehab, which will be good for him.
“That will mean he will start building up his fitness on the grass rather than the gym. He could be four to six weeks away, which sounds a long time but to get him back would be a massive boost.
“So we will have both of them back before the end of the season.”