Petrov: When dressing
News of Rangers suspending striker Kenny Miller and club captain Lee Wallace following their alleged bustup with caretaker manager Graeme Murty in the wake of the 4-0 Scottish Cup thrashing by Celtic had Stiliyan Petrov recalling the night anarchy reigned in the dressing room at Parkhead.
He was in his first season in Scotland after signing for Celtic from CSKA Sofia and was a reluctant spectator as civil war erupted at half-time during their Scottish Cup tie against Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
With Inverness 2-1 ahead at the interval (they would go on to win by 3-1), striker Mark Viduka clashed with assistant manager Eric Black, almost coming to blows. The Australian threw his boots in a bin and refused to go out for the second half while rookie boss John Barnes, hopelessly out of his depth, had little to offer.
Petrov was provided with a crash course in how a football club – and dressing rooms – can unravel. Barnes was dismissed the day after super Caley went ballistic and Celtic were atrocious.
“Wheniplayed,wehadstrongcharacters [in the team], guys who didn’t like to lose,” said the Bulgarian. “The manager didn’t have to motivate us or tell us what we were doing wrong; we knew. But [in Martin O’neill] we also had a manager who could control us and tell us when we were doing well or how to put something right. If you had a bad result every 30 games, that was fine. You had to accept [that criticism] and work out how you were going to bounce back.
“As for Kenny, you need someone to get up and tell people the truth, tell them what it’s all about. Do you know what? Some managers don’t like that these days.
“John Barnes didn’t recover and, if you want to be a good manager, you need to be able to do that. These days, it’s not about what kind of training sessions you put on, it’s how you control and lead your A failed medical prevented striker John Hartson from signing for Rangers from Wimbledon in 2000. The Welshman refused to allow knee problems to derail his career, however, and joined Celtic 12 months later.
Then again, Hartson has always been a battler, as he proved beyond doubt when he recovered from testicular, brain and lung cancer in 2009.
Consequently, while he can accept that footballers might lack certain skill sets, he cannot understand any player who refuses to fight for the cause. team. If you have a team who will play for you and trust you, you are almost there.” The changing room can be an unforgiving environment when teams are struggling and, if performances plummet, harsh words and confrontations are unavoidable.
“It’s terrible when it gets to this stage and it’s hard to control,” said Petrov. “It’s a delicate situation. As a player and a human being, you say things that you might
He watched Rangers surrender to Celtic in Sunday’s Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden and could not believe how cowed Graeme Murty’s charges have become. They have now failed to win any of their ten meetings with Brendan Rodgers’ side and Hartson can see no grounds for optimism for the blue half of Glasgow.
“Their performance showed sometimes feel sorry about later. But then it’s a collective. You need to understand each other and accept that some people react in different ways.
“Someone is a bad loser, someone shows their emotion a different way. Wehadarguments.somethingswere said that hurt me, some things I said hurt other players but you leave it behind. It’s about the bigger picture.”
Miller was an unused substitute at Hampden and, according to Petrov, that will only have increased his frustration, which was allegedly vented in Murty’s direction after the final whistle. that; they were battered and could have lost by seven or eight,” he said. “It was embarrassing. They showed no desire, they didn’t get close to them, they didn’t even close down; it was as if they were in awe [of Celtic]. They were just sitting back.
“It’s an Old Firm game. Rangers beat Celtic a couple of years ago when Ronny Deila was the manager, they beat them on penalties and they never let Celtic settle for one second. From the first whistle they were right in their faces, up against them.
“I’m not surprised by Kenny’s reaction,” he said. “I’ve played against him and he’s the kind of man who doesn’t like to lose. It hurts a lot – and will hurt for years to come – and Kenny knows that.
“He’s been with Rangers through some tough times, so he knows how important it is for the club to get back on their feet. I don’t know what has happened behind closed doors; a lot of things go on and there are always two sides to a story.
“But I would keep guys like Kenny because they know how to lead and also to explain what Rangers is all about. Celtic have that with Scott
‘Rangers could have lost by seven or eight... players showed no desire, it was shocking’
“They showed hard work, commitment, everything that day and they got the result but there was none of that at the weekend. You’re sitting back and going: ‘Is this a testimoni-