TALKING RANGERS SPFL CHAMPIONSHIP PLAY-OFF FINAL

THERE is every chance tomorrow will be Stuart McCall’s last game in charge of Rangers. No matter what happens, if indeed the club do move for someone else regardless of the outcome, he can leave Ibrox with his head held high, just as he did when he and Motherwell parted earlier this season.

Indeed, it serves as a grim irony for McCall that one of the reasons he find himself 3-1 down after a fairly one-sided first leg of the Premiership play-off final is because he signed some good players for the Fir Park club.

He is up against it. His players are up against it. Rang- ers have a long history of remarkable results, but if they were to somehow leave Lanarkshire on tomorrow evening having left the Championship in their slipstream, then it would be up there with any other achievement.

And McCall did not try to hide how much of a challenge lies in store.

He said: “In fairness, Motherwell can only throw it away now. With the experience they’ve got in their ranks, it is theirs to lose.

“But that first goal could be so important. It doesn’t have to come in the first 15 or 20 minutes.

“What we have to do is make sure we defend better than we did on Thursday, to give us any sort of chance whatsoever.”

So what chance do Rangers have?

Well, they can hardly do any worse than for the 50 minute at Ibrox when they were a distant second best. So that’s one thing.

Another is the first goal. If Motherwell get it then that is probably curtains. It’s a real shame for Rangers that McCall brought together so much goal-threat at Motherwell.

He said: “The first goal on Thursday was all-important. We didn’t get it, but listen I know Lee Erwin – I gave him a three-year contract and although he has been unlucky with injury, he’s got everything.

“I brought Lionel Ainsworth to the club and knew what he could do up here – and the boy Marvin Johnston on the other flank, Motherwell paid money for him. We knew he was a threat.

“If you look at the three experienced lads in the middle of the park for Motherwell – Keith Lasley, Stephen Pearson and Scott McDonald –they were all at the top of their game on Thursday.

“We have to try and make sure that, come what may on Sunday, that we are as good as we possibly can be. We need to show a bit of courage.”

IF ONLY every Rangers player had the attitude of Tom Walsh, still 18 and utterly determined to answer the call of duty should it come on Sunday.

He said: “It would be great to play in this type of massive game for the club. I certainly hope I’ll play. I would love to start.

“You want to play in these big games where everyone is watching. That’s what it’s all about. It’s why you play football so I absolutely want to be involved.

“I am ready to go if I am called upon. The boys have played in a lot of games and they will be tired, of course they are.

“Mostly they have performed well, obviously Friday night was disappointing, and so I couldn’t really say anything about being out the team.

“Hopefully I did enough on Friday to get a call on Sunday. I would be raring to go for it.”

And what if it went to penal-