Rangers motivated by McLeish’s glory
RANGERS head coach Malky Thomson has gained advice on managing a final-day title shootout from Alex McLeish ahead of tomorrow’s thrilling conclusion to the SWPL season.
The women’s team are looking to emulate their male club counterparts from 2003 by clinching the league crown on an afternoon when every goal will matter.
Sitting two points behind Glasgow City, Rangers welcome the leaders to Ibrox and can overhaul them on the finishing line with victory in front of a record 10,000-plus crowd.
A win alone might not be enough to claim the crown, however, as Celtic are behind Thomson’s side by only the slenderest of goal difference margins.
Rangers will therefore need to be aware of the scoreline from Hearts’ visit to Parkhead in what promises to be an enthralling finale.
The scenario carries strong echoes of the incredible end to the men’s season 20 years ago, when McLeish’s Rangers won the title by a single goal — thumping Dunfermline 6-1 while Celtic won 4-0 at Kilmarnock.
McLeish was also at the Ibrox helm for the Helicopter Sunday turnaround in 2005 and has been in touch with Thomson to preach the importance of staying cool.
‘I think it’s a situation similar to what my big pal Alex McLeish faced,’ said Thomson. ‘I’ve been speaking to him about it over the last few days.
‘When they were going to win the 2003 title, it was similar and Alex’s advice to me was just to keep doing what we’ve been doing — to keep a level head on things and just deal with each game in isolation. Our planning and preparation will be the same. First and foremost, we need to win the game and that’s been the mantra all season.
‘Obviously we’ll need to have an ear on how many goals we might need if it pans out that way.
‘The mental approach to it is massive. We have been doing things all week to plan for this kind of scenario that big Alex was in.’
Asked whether he would show his players footage from 2003 ahead of facing Glasgow City, Thomson smiled: ‘I think we’ve got enough Rangers supporters in here who have been speaking about it all week.
‘I was actually at an event last week to celebrate 2003. It was great to speak to Barry Ferguson, Craig Moore and big Alex. It’s amazing these guys had no thought other than just winning.’
While Thomson is clear about his primary focus being on overcoming Glasgow City, he knows events across the city will have an inevitable influence on Rangers’ hopes of claiming back-to-back titles.
‘I think the 10,000-plus crowd we’re going to get on Sunday will be vocal enough to let us know what’s happening,’ said Thomson, when asked about plans to monitor Celtic’s score. ‘It’s a great opportunity.’