LEE McCULLOCH

‘We need to concentrate on ourselves and forget all the excuses that are round about us’

“Eye was taken

off the ball by

various things”

THE RANGERS dressing room knows Ally McCoist is leaving. It might be next week, next month, or in just under a year’s time. But they know he is going. This piece of information first entered the public domain just hours before a pitiful performance in last Friday night’s 2-0 defeat from Queen of the South. And it continues to sit there like a tailor-made get- out clause if this mostly experienced group of players continues to under-perform.

Captain Lee McCulloch i nsists, however, that they will not reach for it. He is adamant there can be no further recourse to blaming bad results on the whirlwind of uncertainty which continues to engulf the club.

Instead, the defender has urged his team-mates to look within for reasons why Rangers have suffered three losses and a draw during a deeply damaging six-game spell.

McCoist was adamant yesterday that he intends to work his 12-month notice period.

It could be argued that some players might toil for maximum motivation whilst fully aware that their manager is, at whatever speed, on his way out. McCulloch rejects that notion.

‘It shouldn’t be the case because there is self-motivation as well,’ he insisted. ‘There are seven, eight, nine players out of contract this summer.

‘As players, we are backing the manager with everything he has done for us. We want to do better for him, for ourselves, for the fans.

‘It’s not just about one thing here but people do have to look in the mirror after the last two or three games and ask if they have done enough.

‘Do we have to do more for the manager? On the pitch, definitely. Especially in the last few games.

‘It comes down to looking in the mirror and asking i f you have done enough. Did I play like a Rangers player should play?

‘ It’s slightly harder playing for a club like this and you can’t be hiding. You have got to be demanding and taking the ball. We need 11 players doing that.’

That certainly wasn’t the case at Palmerston as Rangers handed yet another advantage to Hearts in the Championship title race.

So, did the news that McCoist had handed in his notice have an impact on their efforts?

‘The biggest thing for me is that if you put excuses in front of players then, nine times out of 10, they will l ook to take those excuses,’ said McCulloch.

‘We probably could have covered up the last two or three games by using excuses about the timing of things coming out and so on.

‘But for me it’s about trying to get the dressing room to forget about everything that has gone on and try to get our game back — and some points back on the league leaders.

‘We need to just concentrate on ourselves and forget all the excuses that are round about us.

‘ It’s about concentrating on being a football player, turning up f ocused on the j ob and your individual job within the team.’

McCulloch insisted that he hadn’t spoken directly to McCoist about the situation, which seems somewhat curious given his standing within the squad.

‘I think if I wanted to know then I could go and chap his door,’ he added. ‘And I think if there’s anything I need to know, he would come and tell me. So there is no issue.

‘I’m not aware of anything else that is going on at the club. It’s probably a good thing. My job is just to try and keep players focused going i nto a game. And not thinking about things outwith that.

‘Have I seen a difference in the manager? Not at all. I didn’t see it coming, but that’s all I know.’

It was interesting when McCulloch suggested the current climate around the club somehow felt similar to the bleak financial crisis of 2012 and the descent into administration. It was something he couldn’t, or wouldn’t, explain in any detail, but perhaps it indicates the extraordinary sense of flux within Rangers just now.

Beyond the manager’s situation, a number of long-serving staff have been made redundant as part of a cost-cutting programme.

That was led by former Newcastle United managing director Derek Llambias, who was yesterday appointed as chief executive in a sign that Mike Ashley’s influence is being further cemented.

Amid all this, Rangers sit nine points adrift of a Hearts side who have a game in hand. A run of exceptional consistency is now required, beyond anything they have mounted so far this term.

Asked if they were capable of a winning streak between now and the end of the season, McCulloch replied: ‘It’s possible, it’s definitely possible. We have got the players, the squad, the strength in depth.

‘In the last couple of weeks we have not had the mentality. But we have got it in the dressing room. It’s just let us down in the last couple of weeks with our eye being taken off the ball by various things.

‘What gives me confidence? Past results, performances, beating Premiership teams — three or four this season. Lots and lots of things. We are just on a wee dip. A dip in form and maybe confidence as well and it’s up to ourselves and each other to get out of it.

‘We were on a great run of form before and that’s exactly what we have to get back to.

‘ We had eight straight wins, conceding just two goals. We were working hard and scoring goals, showing a desire to pull on a Rangers strip and deal with pulling on a Rangers strip which is quite a big thing. Then all of a sudden we’ve hit a lull.

‘You wouldn’t think there is any margin for error, with Hearts nine points ahead and having a game in hand — albeit we still have them twice to play and there are Edinburgh derbies. I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think there is any margin for error.’