‘King’s put pressure on Murty’

DAVID WEIR has accused Rangers chairman Dave King of putting unnecessary pressure on Graeme Murty ahead of Sunday’s Scottish Cup semi-final with Celtic. Despite praising the Ibrox caretaker boss, King cast doubt on Murty’s future in a statement demanding ‘immediate success’ from the club’s next managerial appointment. Launching Rangers season-ticket renewals, he said the board’s overriding priority was to ensure they had the right man at the helm for next term. However, no decision has been taken on whether Murty will continue beyond this season. Weir believes questions over Murty’s future are the last thing he needs before attempting to halt Treble-chasing Celtic at Hampden. ‘Graeme Murty is the manager and he deserves respect,’ said ex-Rangers captain and assistant boss Weir. ‘The statement cast dubiety on that and put it up for debate again. ‘Rangers should be focusing on the semifinal and the manager they’ve got, giving him as much support as they can, rather than that (statement). ‘Season tickets are up for renewal, so that was possibly part of it, but it’s probably a question Graeme didn’t need asking.’ Weir believes constant changes in the dugout in recent years have rendered the Rangers job less attractive than previously. ‘It’s become a bit of a hot-seat, and is a bit of a revolving door, which makes it less attractive,’ he said. ‘People will still be interested as there are managers who believe they could make a difference. The reality is, though, it’s maybe not as attractive as it once was.’