THIS TITLE’S BIGGER THAN THE SOUNESS REVOLUTION BACK IN 1987
Fleck’s joy at decade in wilderness ending
ROBERT FLECK broke into the Rangers side during the dark days of the early 1980s before playing his part in the Graeme Souness revolution that brought a first title to Ibrox in nine years.
And the former striker reckons Premiership success for Steven Gerrard this season will top even that transformation by fellow Liverpool legend Souness 34 years ago.
But Fleck has warned there is still plenty of work to be done despite a 21-point lead and insists the final 14 games of the league campaign will be a test of their nerve.
Gerrard is adamant his players are focused despite dropping two points at struggling Motherwell on Sunday.
That denied them a club record-equalling 16th league win on the spin as they prepare to host Ross County on Saturday.
It would take a monumental collapse for Gers not to get over the line but Fleck knows the last mile is always the hardest.
And there is so much at stake for the club given they haven’t won the title for a decade and the bid to stop Celtic winning the much-coveted 10 in a row.
Fleck didn’t have the luxury of such a huge lead in the run-in when he helped end a nine-year wait to win the league in Souey’s maiden season in 1987.
Celtic won the final Old Firm derby of that campaign with Brian McClair’s double and an Owen Archdeacon strike securing a 3-1 win at Parkhead to close the gap to just two points on the leaders with five games left.
England boss Bobby Robson was in the stand that day to check out Chris Woods and Terry Butcher and signing such big-name players is the reason Fleck believes Souness had an easier job in succeeding than Gerrard.
Gers responded from that derby loss to win their next three games before Butcher’s header in a 1-1 draw against Aberdeen in their penultimate fixture clinched the crown. Fleck’s only regret is that his involvement in the match was cut short after a first-half red for Souness saw him sacrificed. The 55-year-old said: “There is absolutely no doubt in my mind winning the league this season would be a bigger achievement than Graeme winning it in 1987. “I know the contrast from pre-Souness to winning that first title in 1987 because I had played in front of crowds of 11,000 at Ibrox so it was a massive turnaround.
“But I just feel this one is a little bit bigger when you consider where Rangers have come from in the last three years and the budget Gerrard’s had in comparison to Celtic.
“Graeme signed guys like Chris Woods and Terry Butcher, established England players, but Gerrard has signed players folk south of the border probably hadn’t even really heard of.
“That’s no disrespect to the likes of Connor Goldson and Leon Balogun but they weren’t household names in England.
“Gerrard has turned these guys into good footballers, along with some of those who were already at the club, and if the title happens then it will even be up there with the biggest achievements in his career.
“Souness had all the money – a bottomless pit really – and Steven hasn’t had that. I just hope Rangers can get back to where they belong and stay there.
“I know 21 points is a big gap but Celtic have three games in hand and there are two Old Firm derbies so nobody at Ibrox will be counting their chickens.
“The nerves creep in the closer you get to the finishing line when you haven’t won the league for
Souness had all the money and Gerrard hasn’t had that ROBERT FLECK ON THE DIFFERENT IBROX ERAS
so long but it helps that Rangers have the sort of manager they’ve got now and he’ll keep them level-headed.
“The huge gap at the top means players could get complacent. And then you look at Motherwell on Sunday who are fighting for their lives so they’re not going to give up.
“There’s no pressure on Celtic but can they win every game? Rangers don’t have many players who have been over the line before so Allan McGregor and Steven Davis will play crucial roles, along with Jermain Defoe.” As a boyhood Gers fan, Fleck admitted delivering the title for long-suffering punters was the priority and he couldn’t let them down in ’87.
He said: “We lost at Parkhead in the sixth last game and Celtic moved to within two points but we always had the confidence we were going to do it.
“We didn’t want to let the fans down and the emotion when we clinched the league at Pittodrie showed what it meant to them after waiting for so long.
“I was one of the most disappointed players that day because Souness was sent off – and I was taken off as a result.
“It took me time to join in the celebrations because I was still disappointed I wasn’t in my kit!
“But for a young boy who supported the Glasgow Rangers to get the chance to play for them and alongside such stars as Souness, I will always be grateful for giving me the chance to win the league title.
“And to be fair, on the final day of the season when we were presented with the trophy I scored the only goal against St Mirren which was a fitting end to the season for me.
“I really hope fans are allowed back in before the season finishes so they can let out their emotions in the stadium.
“It’ll cause a lot of problems if restrictions are still the same so we’ll just have to keep our fingers crossed and hope we’re in a better place.”