It is Motherwell’s to lose, says McCall

STUART McCALL last night sought to pile the pressure on former club Motherwell by insisting they can only throw away their place in the SPFL Premiership. The Steelmen pulled off a stunning 3-1 victory in the first leg of the Play-Off

Final at Ibrox, leaving Rangers with 90 minutes to salvage promotion. A late goal from defender Darren McGregor — suspended for tomorrow’s Fir Park return — handed McCall’s side a lifeline. And the interim Ibrox boss kicked off the mind games by insisting the tie is Motherwell’s to lose. ‘We have to try to make sure that, come what may on Sunday, we are as good as we possibly can be,’ said McCall. ‘We need to show a bit of courage. ‘I remember Alan Stubbs saying a 2-0 first-leg lead was a difficult one to defend and he got a bit of criticism for that. But I agreed with him. It’s all about the first goal in the second leg in that situation. ‘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. But what we have to do is make sure we defend better than we did on Thursday, to give us any sort of chance whatsoever.’ Rangers will be weakened defensively by the suspension of McGregor, their most consistent performer at centre-half. Hit by a raft of injuries and shattered players ahead of a fifth game in 15 days, McCall will shuffle the pack and ask his players to stand up and be counted one last time. ‘We have to deal with Darren’s suspension,’ he said. ‘We’ve got other injuries as well. ‘I don’t like saying we have nothing to lose because we have a place in the Premiership to lose. ‘No one is going to give us much hope outside our dressing room. ‘But whoever gets the opportunity to wear that jersey on Sunday has to give everything they’ve got. I don’t want any fainthearted, weak-willed or nervous players. I just want men. I want people to take the game by the scruff of the neck and do everything they can. ‘I can’t point the finger at them for lack of endeavour, effort or desire since I came in. ‘Maybe just a lack of quality and poor defending at times.’ Lee McCulloch will replace McGregor, with Kris Boyd and youngster Tom Walsh also in line for a start. ‘There are some major doubts about a few of them,’ said the Ibrox boss. ‘And question marks over whether a few are just running on empty.’ Meanwhile, striker Jon Daly has confirmed he has left Rangers, saying on his Instagram account: ‘Last day today. Great bunch of boys. Been a pleasure. Good luck Sunday.’