OLD FIRM COUNTDOWN
Top gaffers won’t race to Rangers
and improvements at Celtic, that was unrealistic.
“Whether it’s fair or not is irrelevant because that’s the expectation at Rangers. It’s all about winning the league and playing in Europe.
“How realistic is that based on current circumstances? That’s another debate all together.”
The spot-kick victory after a 2-2 draw over 120 minutes marked the high water mark in Warburton’s reign at Rangers and the lowest tide for Ronny Deila, who paid for the underachievement of his squad only a few weeks later.
The Norwegian stood down but quickly it became Rangers fans resigned to second best as Celtic bid to make it 10 games undefeated in Old Firm clashes this weekend.
Weir said: “The biggest thing was finally beating Celtic. It was a watershed moment and there was an outpouring after that of, ‘Rangers are back’.
“The game itself was really exciting but Celtic should have won it. They had the better chances. Things went our way, even at the penalties when Rogic slipped.
“We were really confident even though Celtic were the better team with better players. We had nothing to lose. The players executed the plan and even in the penalties we knew the order they’d be taken in.
“With hindsight, victory created a false expectation of what lay ahead. We were a Championship team with a lot of lads having their first experience of Rangers.
“There’s no doubt we were improving. We were back in the Premiership and Celtic realised the gap was closing a bit and they would not have taken that lightly. They reacted very well by going out and securing a great manager.”
Weir has been involved in recruitment and scouting over the last three months after he and Warburton were axed by Nottingham Forest following their resignation from Rangers.
He wouldn’t rule out returning to the game as a manager but stopped well short of declaring a return to Ibrox as an ambition, not least out of respect for Graeme Murty.
He added: “You want to go to Rangers and be there for a long time and be successful. I will argue with anyone that Mark and I were successful. When we came to the club we had nine players, they’d finished third in the Championship and there was a lot of work to do.
“We wanted to build a team to take Rangers into the Premiership and we were on the right route but the next season was more difficult.”
Weir will be an interested viewer on Sunday as Gers chase a first major honour since 2011.
But asked if stopping another clean sweep would be like winning a trophy he said: “The politically correct answer is no but in reality it’s yes.
“Celtic winning back-to-back trebles would be an incredible achievement and seven in a row increases pressure on Gers. Getting to 10 in a row gives them credibility and bragging rights.”
Davie Weir was speaking at a William Hill media event. William Hill is the proud sponsor of the Scottish Cup. FROM BACK PAGE Graeme Murty in the build-up to the Scottish Cup semi-final.
King cast doubt over the long-term future of Murty in a letter to season-ticket holders just days before the crunch clash with Celtic at Hampden.
Weir, No.2 to Mark Warburton during an ill-fated stint at the club, said: “Rangers has always been one of the most attractive jobs in British football for obvious reasons – the support, the infrastructure, the chance to be successful.
“But it has become a bit of a hotseat now, and it’s a little bit of a revolving door, which makes it less attractive.
“There will still be lots of people interested of course because there will be lots of managers who believe they could make a difference. The reality is it is maybe not as attractive as it once was.”
King stands accused of pulling the rug from under the feet of Murty in a week in which they have never needed their manager more bullish.
Weir said: “Graeme Murty deserves the respect of being manager. Obviously the statement cast dubiety on that and put it up for debate again.”