We can use League Cup as launchpad just like Liverpool did in 2001
First trophy for Rangers can be the vital spark to further success, says McAllister
GARY McALLISTER has experienced first-hand how lifting the League Cup provided the catalyst for a successstarved club to go on and achieve greater glories.
What was true for Liverpool back in 2001 can, he hopes, be relevant to Rangers in 2019. Against that background, there is no possibility of Steven Gerrard’s assistant downplaying the importance of tonight’s quarter-final visit to Livingston.
It is now eight years and counting since the Ibrox outfit claimed a major piece of silverware. Of their current squad, only the returning figures of Allan McGregor and Steven Davis know what it is like to regularly meet the demands of a fanbase who expect their team to be at the top of the Scottish game.
McAllister entered a not-toodissimilar situation when he joined Liverpool in the summer of 2000. The dominance of the 1970s and 80s had long gone at Anfield. A League Cup victory against Bolton Wanderers in 1995 was this proud entity’s last accomplishment. Their loyal support were anxious for change.
At the age of 36, McAllister helped to deliver it. Six months into his debut season, Gerard Houllier’s team reached the League Cup final at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium. A last-gasp equaliser denied them a 90-minute victory over Birmingham City, but McAllister netted from the spot as Liverpool claimed the prize in a penalty shoot-out.
While the Worthington Cup in itself was hardly a passport to the pantheon on Merseyside, McAllister saw how the squad fed off that success to add the FA Cup and UEFA Cup in an historic Cup Treble.
The Ibrox No2 makes no rash claims about Rangers racking up multiple honours in Gerrard’s second season in charge. But a first trophy would, he feels, deliver a huge psychological boost to the dressing room as well as finally ending the drought. In that sense, the League Cup is truly vital.
‘I agree because it comes early,’ said McAllister, considering the December 8 final. ‘People might look at it and say that it is at the bottom of our list of priorities but I can assure you that it is not.
‘We are desperate to try and use this as a catalyst to go and win more trophies, but we need to get the first one. There has been a lull and it is too long for Rangers to go without a trophy.
‘The wee resemblance is that the Liverpool Treble-winning team most definitely used the Worthington Cup — the English League Cup — as a catalyst. It also gave a belief within the dressing room that we could go on and do well in the other competitions. That was the first final.
‘A lot of players and managers say they are winners, but they have actually not won anything. To call yourself a winner you actually need to have won something. This group of players have got to get to that point.
‘We see this match at Livingston as a big game. The Europa League is massive, the league is massive, the Scottish Cup is a big competition but the League Cup is not down there. We see it is a big step and a step to keep moving us forward.
‘I think it would bring greater belief, without a shadow of a doubt.’
The competition delivered only bitter disappointment last season. With Alfredo Morelos suspended, Umar Sadiq made his one and only senior start up front as Rangers suffered a semi-final loss to Aberdeen thanks to Lewis Ferguson’s second-half header. It still niggles with McAllister.
‘Definitely,’ said the former Scotland captain. ‘We were sucker-punched in a set-play by Aberdeen. Aberdeen did a job on us, so there was disappointment there. We will look to go one better this season. We want to get our fans back to Hampden in a final rather than just a semi-final.
‘It gnaws at them as well. The beauty of not winning in this period is that the expectation level hasn’t dropped and I think that is a massive thing and a good thing at this club.
‘As soon as that wanes then the club will go down. It keeps players on their toes and it is a good pressure.’
Midfielder Joe Aribo hopes to respond accordingly. In May, he helped Charlton secure promotion to the Championship by defeating Sunderland in front of 76,155 people at Wembley and is now eager for more big occasions.
‘Everyone wants to be a winner but you have to taste success in order to know the feeling and keep craving it,’ said Aribo. ‘The League One play-off final victory at Wembley has definitely given me that fire in my belly.
‘One of the reasons I came here is to win trophies. I see the desire in this squad. Even in training, everyone wants to win small-sided games. Nobody likes losing because it’s not a good feeling.’
Aribo’s rise at Rangers will be further confirmed next month when he represents Nigeria against Brazil in a friendly in Singapore. The 23-year-old scored on his international debut against Ukraine earlier this month.
‘It was very good news to be called up to the Nigeria squad again and I’m happy I was able to do enough in the last game to earn
a recall,’ said Aribo. ‘Games don’t come much bigger than Brazil and we know they’ve got a lot of stars like Neymar, of course.
‘That’s the type of opponents I want to be playing against and it would be good to swap a jersey with one of those superstars.
‘I’ll see so many stars and I’ll take a moment to realise that’s what I’ve been dreaming of. Everyone in my generation loved players like Ronaldinho and he played with some of the players in this team now so it’s like: “Wow”.
‘The manager congratulated me on my debut goal against Ukraine. I wouldn’t say it was much of a step up from Rangers but it was good to play against opponents like that who have a lot of good players.’