SILVER IS PRICELESS
McLeish: Trophies are only currency of value
The importance of winning a Scottish Cup as Rangers manager will never be lost on Alex McLeish.
After all, holding that trophy aloft in 2002 at Hampden was the moment he convinced Ibrox fans he was up to the job.
And it helps when you do it with a last-minute winner against Old Firm rivals Celtic – with Peter Lovenkrands sealing a 3-2 win.
That result won over McLeish’s doubters after he replaced Dick Advocaat in the Gers hotseat.
But even after winning the first two bits of silverware available to him, he didn’t rest on his laurels.
As Ibrox gaffer, McLeish knew he had to be relentless in his pursuit of honours. And he went on to win a domestic Treble the following season.
Current boss Steven Gerrard doesn’t need to win over the Light Blue legions after securing their first title in a decade and ending Celtic’s bid for 10-in-a-row.
But the same rules apply for any Rangers manager. That’s why McLeish knows Gerrard will be desperate to get his hands on the Scottish Cup on May 22.
Ahead of the quarter-final tie at home to St Johnstone tonight, the former gaffer said: “You know at an Old Firm club that you have to win trophies.
“On my first day I was asked by the press how I felt about my underwhelming welcomee from the Rangers fans.
“Advocaat had been a foreign coach so there was maybe a belief that the club would only go down that road again.
“But my answer was that it was up to me to prove to fans that I was right for the job. And, of course, thee Scottish Cup Final thatt season was an epic game.
“It’s one of the greatestt memories of my career andd one of the best days of my football life. I saw what it meant to the fans – that’s what turns coaches and managers on.
“That they can please the fans so much by winning trophies or giving great performances.
“There’s an expectancy at certain clubs to win trophies and that wi l l never stop at Rangers or Celtic.
“As soon as you win one, it’s a case of moving on to the next.
“Rangers are a high-pressure club. So to be able to do that, to lift those trophies, is exhilarating.
“Doing it as a player was the greatest achievement of my life because becoming a professional player was my No.1 goal.
“To then get success in management was wonderful because you’re doing it for a different reason – it’s for the people, the supporters.
“Gerrard comes from Liverpool where there’s that expectation to win trophies. That expectation will always be there at Rangers or Celtic while they’re dominating the game in Scotland.”
Another key achievement in McLeish’s time as Rangers boss was leading them to the last 16 of the Champions League in 2005.
Gerrard will get a crack at that next season after winning the title, with qualifiers to negotiate first in August.
But McLeish fears, given the f inancial gul f between the Scottish champs and Euro big guns, it’ll be near-impossible for Gers to reach the knockout phase.
McLeish, who was delighted to see the collapse of a proposed European Super League, said: “It’s amazing when you walk down the Ibrox tunnel and hear that tune.
“It would be a travesty if teams didn’t qualify for the Champions League despite winning their own leagues.
“The Champions League is prone to making changes – but one of them should be to make sure all the clubs that win their leagues have a big ger say in getting there.
“The smart money is not on Rangers and Celtic making it to those stages any more because of the financial weight of the other clubs and their ability to sign the top players.
“I remember speaking to Gerard Houllier after he had won three titles with Lyon.
“I asked him if he felt anxious at times in the dugout.
“He said not so much, when I have players of real qual ity available to me.” McLeish is as frustrated now as he was when he was Rangers boss at the gap in finances between the Ibrox club and some of their European rivals. The idea of a British League has been mooted again, as it was when he was at the helm in 2004.
And he reckons, in this current climate of change, anything is possible.
The former Scotland boss said: “It’s irritating for a lot of the smaller countries that they don’t get straight into the Champions League.
“Of course, that’s down to money. The English clubs are only over the border but they have the richest league in the world now. We used to have rea l close clashes with them.
“But you still get shocks even now. Real Madrid were beaten by Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League this season. The
British League idea isn’t going to go away.
“If Rangers and Celtic were to play in an elite league, they’d play catch up to start with. But they’d have the wherewithal to do it.
“The Super League talk last week turned out to be a damp squib.
“But it does make you think there wi l l be change.”
■ McLeish was promoting exclusively live Premier Sports coverage of today’s tie. Premier Sports is available on Sky, Virgin TV and the Premier Player. Prices start from £10.99 per month.
Expec will tation never at
Gers.. stop it’s win one, move on to next