Ibrox idealism could give McInally’s men a fighting chance
JIM McINALLY has lauded his Rangers counterpart Mark Warburton for refusing to compromise on his principles.
The Peterhead boss hopes his team can take advantage of Rangers’ cavalier tendencies at Hampden today, but insists Warburton ought to be praised for placing the emphasis on attack.
A recent run that saw Rangers concede nine goals in three Championship fixtures left the former Brentford boss open to accusations of tactical naivety, but McInally sees it differently.
And he insists that while he sees opportunities for his League One team to spring a shock this afternoon, he is even more frightened of the damage his own side could suffer at the other end of the pitch.
He said: ‘There are weaknesses in the Rangers team but it’s getting to them that’s the problem.
‘I was at their game against Falkirk a few weeks ago and it was the best I’d been to all season. It was fantastic.
‘The reason for that was the way Mark’s team plays. I switch off football on the telly now, especially Premier League games, when I think of what some people are earning.
‘Some of it is rotten, there’s no entertainment value. Then I watch Rangers, and Mark should be commended for the way his team play.
‘They’re a joy to watch and they play with a big risk factor. If you can expose them you’ve got a chance — but they’re trying to do it to you for 90 minutes.’
A former Scotland international and seasoned European practitioner with Dundee United, McInally has experienced enough big
occasions to be relaxed going into today’s game.
However, he appreciates the damage Rangers are capable of doing to his part-time team.
‘I have two mindsets,’ continued McInally, whose four and a half years at Balmoor make him the longest-serving manager in the SPFL. ‘My first is, “please don’t get thrashed”. Then I start to dream about the other side of it.
‘If we have a good day and Rangers don’t, we could pull off a real shock.
‘In a perfect world I know how I’d like to set up against them but it’s easier said than done because Rangers take so many chances and leave players up the park.
‘I don’t see Mark changing next season. I think he lost his job at Brentford because he wouldn’t change and it’s good for Scottish football.
‘Look at Barrie McKay. He had bad times at Morton and Raith Rovers on loan — that was because he had to do the dirty side of the job. Now he doesn’t have to come back across the halfway line. He stays up the park and does what he’s good at.
‘Look at the full-backs as well. In that game against Falkirk, one of them was offside three times!
‘That’s good because football is sometimes hard to watch now. Good on them.’
McInally expects his players to handle an atmosphere that will see his club’s followers vastly outnumbered by the Rangers support at the national stadium.
The 52-year-old added: ‘I’ll get the players into a positive mood. It’s the sixth time we’ve played Rangers in three years so we’re used to it now.
‘We’ve been to Ibrox and played in front of 50,000 on Armed Forces Day. It was packed and the atmosphere was electric. So we won’t be overawed by the occasion.’
McInally will look to his top scorer to try to unsettle the Glasgow team — and silence the crowd.
‘Our talisman is Rory McAllister,’ he added. ‘I know if Rory has a good day, he’ll cause Rangers problems but we need to give him decent service.
‘Rangers will definitely have their minds on Celtic next week. That’s just human nature.
‘We’ve got to take advantage of that but there’s no doubt they’ll be thinking about it. As will their fans, who might not be as vociferous on Sunday as they’d normally be. We have to use that.’