Hibs are in the last-chance saloon, claims McCall
STUART McCALL led Rangers into a promotion showdown with Hibernian but, despite winning the battle, he ultimately lost the war — and with it his job. Replaced by Mark Warburton following Rangers’ defeat to Motherwell in the play-off final in May, McCall is admirably philosophical about his brief stint in the manager’s chair and expresses zero regrets.
Handed a remit to salvage the club’s bid to reach the Premiership in the wake of ever-worsening performances under Ally McCoist and Kenny McDowall, McCall feels no shame in his efforts, not least because he found a way to prevail over a Hibs side he concedes as superior to his own.
Now back delivering television analysis in conjunction with his part-time role as a coach with the Scotland national team, McCall has been casting a keen eye over the start to the current Championship season and concludes that both Warburton and Alan Stubbs are in charge of significantly improved teams going into this lunchtime’s showdown at Easter Road.
Yet, with Hibs already eight points behind in the league standings after Rangers’ perfect start of 11 consecutive victories, he believes it will be lights out for the Edinburgh club’s title bid if Alan Stubbs’ men do not get a result today.
McCall’s logic is based on his belief that, although the two title rivals have got better, the general standard of Scottish football’s second tier has lowered.
He said: ‘I listened to Stubbsy on the telly during the week and he was saying Hibs are 10 points better off than at this stage last year.
‘I certainly think they are stronger now. They were a good squad last year but they have improved.
‘But Hibs know that Rangers won’t lose too many games this season. You look at the fixture list and wonder where they might drop points. Falkirk away is a possibility but, overall, I don’t think the league is as strong this season. There’s no Hearts, while Queen of the South have lost a lot of players.
‘So it’s vital for Hibs that they take points when they meet Rangers. I think this game is key for them — they have to beat Rangers.
‘As much as they might say otherwise themselves, if Hibs lose I genuinely think it’s over. Eleven points would be too much to claw back and, although they might say they are happy with a draw, they will feel they need to win this.
‘And, much as Mark will want to win every game, if Rangers do not get beat then it’s a good result.’
Although his team ultimately came up short, the games with Hibs proved galvanising for McCall and his players. After consecutive draws in his first three fixtures, McCall got his first win at Easter Road in March, but the scale of the task confronting him was confirmed by the news that the result served to confirm Hearts as runaway champions, leaving Rangers to fight it out with Hibs and Queen of the South in the play-offs.
‘If I’m being honest, Hibs were better than us last season,’ admitted McCall (right). ‘When I went in we were 9-1 down on aggregate for the season and that’s why we needed to change the approach and be slightly more defensive. ‘We went to Easter Road, got the win and that really got the season up and running. We then got through the play-off tie thanks to two really good finishes from Haris Vuckic and Kenny Miller at Ibrox but 2-0 maybe flattered us from that first leg.
‘That gave us something to hold on to in the second leg and we managed to edge through.’ Although McCall adopted a pragmatic approach against Hibs, he does not expect Warburton to do the same.
With the bulk of last term’s under-achieving squad having departed, the former Brentford boss had a fresh canvas upon which to lay his football vision and he has opted for flamboyance.
With full-backs Lee Wallace and James Tavernier operating high up the pitch and loanees Nathan Oduwa and Gedion Zelalem adding technical flair, Rangers have been a team transformed.
If the 6-2 Petrofac Training Cup win at Easter Road was something of a red herring — Hibs’ line-up today will be unrecognisable from the team defeated that day — a 1-0 victory in the first league meeting of the teams at Ibrox in August looks to have been a hugely significant result.
‘I don’t see Mark having to change it, so it will be interesting to see how Hibs set up,’ added McCall.
‘With their personnel, Hibs are set up to play a diamond but I think it’s unlikely Alan will do that because that will give Rangers’ attacking full-backs the space to get down the sides.
‘Tavernier and Wallace have been excellent this season and you don’t want to encourage them to come on to you.
‘It’s a big park, Easter Road, and that’s ideal for that kind of player.
‘There’s also Jason Holt and Martyn Waghorn to think about. I’ve liked Waghorn for years and tried to take him to Bradford from Sunderland when he was a kid.
‘The Hibs supporters will want their team to go at them and that might play into Rangers’ hands.
‘If Barrie McKay and possibly Oduwa are involved wide, they might be able to exploit the space.’
As impressed as he is with the new-look Rangers, McCall believes Hibs have a particularly strong group of midfielders at the moment.
He believes Stubbs has reacted skilfully to the departure of last season’s Championship Player of the Year Scott Allan, minimising the disruption caused by the playmaker’s exit while strengthening the depth of options available with the acquisitions of John McGinn and Dylan McGeouch. Liam Henderson also arrived from Celtic on loan as part of the Allan deal.
With Stubbs also adding players at the back and up front, he sees a formidable team emerging in the east.
If I’m honest, Hibs were better than us last year. When I went in we were 9-1 down on aggregate for the season
‘Looking at their midfield, it’s as strong as you will get,’ continued McCall. ‘Scott Allan was the one who was going to open things up for Hibs but, in McGinn and Henderson, they have recruited two really good players.
‘They also have Fraser Fyvie and Dylan McGeouch available, so they are very strong in the middle of the park.
‘My worry for Hibs was that they didn’t score enough goals. I wasn’t sure who was going to score the goals for them but Jason Cummings has hit a purple patch and Dominique Malonga has come on to prove a bit of a gem too.
‘But underneath that they have James Keatings, Henri Anier, Farid El Alagui and Islam Feruz. They have so many options.
‘Add in Darren McGregor and they used the transfer window very well. I can see them winning a lot of games this season.’
Although Warburton has not put a foot wrong in the eyes of many Rangers fans, his decision to free McGregor is the personnel choice which — at the very least — is open to question.
McCall hung his hat on the 30-yearold last term and maintains that the defender was fully deserving of his club Player of the Year award.
Warburton has placed his faith in Danny Wilson, Rob Kiernan and Dominic Ball this term and, thus far, only League Cup conquerors St Johnstone have managed to get the better of the Ibrox side.
Nevertheless, his decision to release McGregor allowed Hibs to pick up a proven operator and a boyhood fan to boot. McGregor revealed to the Mail on
Sunday last weekend that he was especially looking forward to today’s match and McCall well knows the burning ambition that lurks within the one-time junior operator.
‘In my time at Rangers, Darren and little Andy Murdoch were the two best players,’ he added. ‘Darren’s strengths lie in his total commitment and his defensive work.
‘Mark wants to play from the back — give Darren time on the ball and that’s maybe not his strength.
‘But, as a defender and a leader, well there aren’t many of them around in the game.
‘He is better at centre-half but I also used him at wing-back and he never let me down. I like him a lot. I know he has gone to the club he supports but I was sad for him when he left. I saw an interview with him in pre-season and he was talking about the challenge of proving himself to Mark and trying to oust the lads who are playing at the back.
‘He knew it was an uphill task but was keen to take on that challenge.’
With both teams strongest on the front foot, it’s no surprise that McCall predicts goals.
‘Hibs have had some good results, beating Raith away and also Falkirk,’ he noted. ‘Even so, Rangers keep steam-rollering on. They haven’t won the last three by big margins but they are still creating chances.
‘I hope it’s an entertaining game and I’m going for a high-scoring draw, say 2-2.’