Gers have what it takes to push Celts all the way, insists Halliday
RANGERS midfielder Andy Halliday has revealed he was forced to celebrate last month’s Old Firm win on the plane to Dubai after seeing his cheeky bid to toast the triumph in the streets around Ibrox foiled.
The boyhood Rangers fan — who grew up just yards from the stadium on Copland Road — helped Steven Gerrard’s men halt Brendan Rodgers’ run of derby dominance with a 1-0 home win over Celtic.
He later described the victory over the Hoops as the best day of his life but he was forced to dart straight to the airport after fulltime having signed up for a sunshine break with girlfriend Jilly Cross in the Middle East.
However, Halliday admits he asked his other half if he could postpone the holiday by 24 hours so he could join the Gers faithful in the bars around Ibrox — only to be left disappointed.
The 27-year-old, speaking from the club’s winter training base in Tenerife, said: “I got straight on a plane after the Old Firm; it has been such a long season in a short space of time so it was good that the gaffer gave the boys a bit of time to recoup.
“The feeling at the final whistle was sheer ecstasy.”
Gers claimed their first league triumph over their bitter foes in seven years thanks to Ryan Jack’s winner. They now sit level on points at the top with the Hoops, having played a game more.
Halliday added: “It is the best fixture in the world, it’s as simple as that.
“I had some difficult times in that fixture in the past with some heavy defeats but it was certainly good to give a bit back to the fans. It was 1-0 but it was a doing, it could have been five.
“It added that bit extra because of the way the boys played and the result.
“When you look at the title race going into the winter break it is looking good for us.”
Rangers return to SPL action at Kilmarnock on January 23. Gerrard’s side visit Cowdenbeath in the Scottish Cup next Friday. REVERED by the Manchester United legions, there isn’t a Red Devil in the land who doesn’t envy Norman Whiteside.
From gracing the Old Trafford sward as he rose to 1980s legend status, he now enjoys close-up views of the action from the best seats in the house as a matchday host in the hospitality suites.
It’s a dream role for a former player steeped in the club history and tradition since joining as a 14-year-old straight from schools football on Belfast’s Shankill Road.
But lately the Saturday job had begun to lose its lustre for the now 53-year-old. After four decades of playing and then watching football the United way of attack, attack, attack, he was looking on disbelievingly as the once great entertainers routinely fluffed their lines on club football’s biggest stage.
And then the unthinkable happened, convincing him that regime change was inevitable as the curtain fell on Jose Mourinho’s lamentable final act.
“People were leaving the ground early, they were so hard to watch,” relates Norman incredulously. “I’d never seen that at Old Trafford before. Even in the hospitality suites, where they pay top dollar, they’d just brush out past you. The results weren’t good, the football was unattractive, visiting teams no longer feared coming to Old Trafford. It couldn’t go on.”
But if the managerial departure of Mourinho was no surprise to a seasoned United observer with his insider’s antenna tuned to the mood of the club, the appointment of another Red legend, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, was a bit of an eye-opener, he admits.
Wonder quickly turned to admiration and approval at the immediate impact of the Norwegian hero of the treble-completing 1999 Champions League win.
Five wins out of five ahead of tomorrow’s acid test TOTTENHAM boss Mauricio Pochettino, the man who is favourite to become Manchester United’s next permanent manager, has admitted to celebrating their most famous goal.
Pochettino is thought to be United’s first choice to take over from caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who is holding the fort following Jose Mourinho’s sacking last month.
The Argentinian — an Espanyol player at the time — has revealed he was at the Nou Camp in 1999 as Solskjaer’s injury-time against Tottenham at Wembley have put Solskjaer on a plinth with the fans who adored him as their smiling assassin goal poacher, giving him the best start as a United manager since the father of the club, Sir Matt Busby, in 1946.
And few are better placed than Norman (below) to happily confirm: “Everything at the club has changed in a few short weeks since Jose departed before Christmas. The atmosphere at home matches has gone from doom and gloom to excitement surging through the stands again.
“It’s the United style of play we know and love. It’s not just Ole’s results that have lifted the mood — it is the way he is getting them.
“United are a team going forward again with the crowd behind them. Players who looked inhibited and afraid under Jose have now thrown off whatever shackles were holding them back and are expressing themselves freely.
“Ole hasn’t exactly waved a magic wand. He’s simply reminded the players of their quality… that’s why you are in the team, go out and show
it.
“I can’t pinpoint a single reason why it all went wrong under Jose. Just as good players don’t become bad players overnight, neither do managers.
“He won three trophies in his first season, including the Europa League, a hard one to achieve, and a year and a half later, it all turns to dust and he is gone. It is hard to fathom.
“What I would say is that even when he was successful and winning trophies, for United and elsewhere, his style of play and methods were never the United way.
“Communication, I feel, was a big problem. A gulf seemed to develop between him and his players, Paul Pogba in particular. A lot of fans won’t have been enamoured by Pogba and his social media persona but the problems between player and manager can’t have been all one way.
“Something wasn’t right in the dressing room, whispers were starting to find their way into the media, it obviously wasn’t a happy camp and that translated into performances on the pitch.
“Part of the problem, I felt, was that Jose lacked a buffer between himself and the players. He believed he could handle everything.
“That was an area Sir Alex Ferguson handled brilliantly. Part of his genius was realising the importance of a good No.2 and go between, someone players can talk to and relate to, who can defuse issues before they develop into clashes with the manager. When I was there, it was Archie Knox. After that came strong figures like Brian Kidd, Steve McClaren and Mike Phelan, whose return and influence has played a big part in the turnaround under Ole.
“The whole player-manager relationship seemed to break down under Jose. Look at the way he habitually bawled out young players like Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford.