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Gary Mac: Euro KO can be the making of this team
By Saturday they’ll have played 38 games and completed 110 training sessions in 170 days.
Now Gary McAllister reckons that the ‘R’ in RFC should stand for recovery. Then, for the next five months, the Rangers assistant boss wants it to stand for rampant.
With their 14- game Europa League adventure over, Rangers have to ensure their absence from the last 32 is not a curse but a blessing as the management team finally set about moving forward rather than just running to stand still. McAllister is convinced they have a far better second half of the season in them now that they have time to tweak and talk tactics with the players instead of the endless cycle of rest and game prep.
Today’s trip to Perth kicks off three games in a crucial seven- day stretch before the winter break.
The former Scotland skipper said: “We tip our hat to the players. There’s been a lot of change and they’ve given us everything.
“I know we’re talking about being halfway through the league but we’ve had 14 European ties and to deal with that and the domestic league, they’ve given us their all.
“Okay, at times the performance level has dropped and other times it’s had a bump –but across the whole picture we’re delighted.
“We can get better though – and we’re looking to do that.
“We can pick up more points because Europe made it harder. Listen, we’d still like to have that distraction. It would have been brilliant to get to the last 32 but now we’re out we can really focus.
“A week or so ago, we flipped past 100 training sessions but, of those, most have been recovery sessions.
“When we were in Spain for pre-season, it was more tactical work. But since the start of European games, the sports science guys have guided us and most of that’s been about recovering to go again in the next game.
“Now we can absolutely put more of a stamp on the team.
“You have to remember that in all the recovery sessions we’ve done, you’re working with small pockets of players who haven’t featured.
“Now we’re all together and we’re not in a rush to get to the next game.
“We’ll go over what we did in Spain in pre- season as a reminder of what we started off trying to do.
“We can be better in possession, more clinical in front of goal, do better from set pieces, defend from the front better – we’re continually looking to improve.
“There are different games we’ll do different things for, maybe not press as high against some as we do others.
“There’s loads of tactical stuff we’ll be doing as well – we’ll be using the extra time we have wisely.”
Gers have used 30 players in their 35 games so far and McAllister is grateful they have had the resources to build depth into their squad.
He admitted: “We’ve got a big squad but we’ve had to use it.
“There have been moments when we’ve gone to 10 men – maybe too often – and even gone to nine men.
“Those have been occasions when players have stood up and properly emptied themselves, real heroic stuff.
“That’s what we see. Others may see it differently. But with their backs against the wall, people have stood up and that’s been impressive for us.”
Most eyes will be layering in on next Saturday’s clash with Celtic at Ibrox as the month’s – maybe even the season’s – defining moment.
But Steven Gerrard’s trusted righthand man refuses to have his focus drawn past this afternoon and taking on a St Johnstone side and manager he has been admiring from afar for years.
He said: “Looking from the outside in before I came to Rangers, it’s always amazed me how well Tommy Wright has done at St Johnstone.
“Even in the little period that I worked with BT Sport, going through to Perth, they don’t have massive crowds and each season you look at the squad and there isn’t a great deal of change. I would imagine there isn’t a great deal of money to recruit but he does amazing stuff with what he has.
“I watched them earlier in the season and they started pretty slowly but since the 6- 0 defeat against Celtic they’ve been fantastic.
“They have a small squad so it’s not as if Tommy can flip things around.
“So the work he’s done from that Celtic result and the effect that must have had on the players, to get the reaction he’s had, it’s all testament to the guy. And he just keeps repeating it.”
Despite the Old Firm build-up, the Ibrox staff are acutely aware there’s no point in arriving at next Saturday without the platform to overhaul their rivals.
McAllister said: “This St Johnstone game is big – as big as the game next Saturday, as is the Hibs game on Boxing Day, because if we can start a run over this next three, you don’t know where we could be come the winter break.”
Glenn Middleton has vowed to take the nine points in seven days Rangers need to get back to the top of the league – and then stay there.
The midfielder admits the Ibrox players have been frustrated at letting top spot slip away twice, dropping