New chip off the old Ibrox block Paul Wilson and Patrick Glenn Sunday October 19, 2003 The Observer
Sir Alex Ferguson has been sitting on a closely guarded secret these past 60-odd years. He used to be a Celtic supporter. The wisdom of coming out in the same week Manchester United visit Rangers in the Champions League is debatable, although as a former Ibrox player returning to his native city on Wednesday Ferguson can be sure of a rousing welcome. Warmer than the one he will get from tomorrow's FA disciplinary hearing, at any rate. 'I've been back to Rangers before,' he says. 'As a player I always had a good reception, because although my time at the club did not work out as well as it might the Rangers supporters knew I always tried hard. When you go back as manager of another club it's a bit different.' There is no doubt Ferguson is recognised as one of Rangers' own, even though he told a wee fib in his recent autobiography when claiming to have supported the Ibrox club all his life. 'My Dad used to be a Celtic supporter, so that's what I was at first,' he explains. 'Even though we lived right in the shadow of Ibrox in Govan. Going to school was what changed all that. I suddenly realised everyone in the area supported Rangers.' Glaswegians claiming allegiance to both Old Firm clubs are not that plentiful and Ferguson must also have been unusual in growing up with a Protestant father who favoured Celtic, although he does offer the explanation that Ferguson senior had little time for religion in any form. By the time Ferguson was playing for Rangers there was never any question of split loyalties, although he does admit that his timing could have been better. 'When I was at Rangers there was no doubt Celtic were the dominant team and they had a great manager,' he says. 'We had just the one chance to change that. We could have been champions [in 1968] had we won our last game, but we managed to lose it after being 2-1 up with 10 minutes to go.' Nothing was quite the same for Ferguson at Rangers after that, though later in life he twice turned down invitations to return north and manage his old club. 'It all comes down to timing again,' he explains. 'I realised Aberdeen could not possibly challenge the supremacy of the Old Firm, not in the long run, and I think I left there at the right time. I felt then that I had to go to England, partly to prove myself and partly out of loyalty to Aberdeen. I didn't want to be going back there with a new club. Graeme Souness managed to get the timing right at Rangers. He came along and spent a lot of money and changed the complexion of the game up there.' Ferguson is willing to admit that he thought Alex McLeish, his old Aberdeen centre-back, had his timing wrong when he succeeded Dick Advocaat last year, so he has been all the more surprised to see instant success. 'Alex has done a great job. To win the Treble so soon was fantastic and he's had to do it with not much money and players he didn't choose to bring to the club,' he says. 'I'm not saying I didn't think he would make a good manager, he's receptive, a good listener and he picked up some good experience at Motherwell and Hibs. 'I thought he was ready for a big job, but I thought he took over at Rangers at a difficult time. We still speak quite a lot, though not in the last few days. He often used to come down here to see a Champions League game, but now he's in it himself there is no need.' McLeish would probably have preferred less taxing circumstances in which to renew a professional acquaintance with the most influential figure in his career, but the Rangers manager is unlikely to be fazed by the prospect. Having grown impressively into a relentlessly demanding job since he succeeded Advocaat, the Rangers manager has evidently stored up so much self-belief that he has enough to spread it among his players. Whether it will be sufficient to get a result against United remains to be seen, but it has so far taken the Scottish champions to heights that, just a year ago, their fans could not have imagined. Ferguson regularly insists that luck is any manager's most powerful ally and McLeish, by his own admission, has enjoyed his share. Yet it is undeniable that he shares with his mentor a capacity for suffusing his team with the fortitude and resilience to negotiate difficult obstacles and remain upright. Rangers' 2-1 victory at FC Copenhagen in the qualifying round - they had drawn 1-1 in Glasgow - and their 2-1 win against VfB Stuttgart in the group match at Ibrox are prime examples of that good fortune and durability, the latter complemented by a substantial measure of skill. Their experience in Athens, where they conceded a late equaliser to Panathinaikos in a game they appeared to have under control, merely confirmed McLeish's conviction that the Champions League is the most exacting club competition in world football. 'What we do know is that it is a ruthlessly unforgiving tournament,' he says. 'There is so much quality, the teams that contest it operate at such a consistently high level, that you will be punished for the slightest error. One mistake and you're dead. 'When you look at our match with Stuttgart here, they must have been thinking they were in no danger, leading by a goal and everything going smoothly. Then, suddenly, we've scored twice in 10 minutes and they're behind. When we equalised that night, I was happy enough. 'I was aware of what Fergie himself always says about the tournament, that you have to take something from a match. I was pleased at that stage about the prospect of a point, when suddenly we have all three. Then we suffered the reverse in Greece, when we seemed to be on our way to victory. 'We saw what happened to United themselves in Stuttgart. They had controlled the first half, seemingly without a problem, then the next thing they're two down and heading for defeat. 'I think what makes the Champions League different from any other contest, including hard domestic leagues such as England's, is that the pace and the physical demands of each match are unrelenting. Even in the biggest domestic games, say Rangers against Celtic, there are little periods when there is a chance to get a breather. That doesn't happen in the Champions League.' McLeish expects United to attempt to play at a high tempo and although he would not own up to concern in that regard, it is likely that the pace at which the English champions go about their work will give him plenty to worry about. 'We've seen most of their games this season,' he says, 'and there is a noticeable difference in the way they approach the big European nights. It was especially pronounced when they took five off Panathinaikos at Old Trafford.' Without the injured Ronald de Boer, Rangers are unquestionably diminished, but the probable availability of the rugged Australian central defender Craig Moore to partner the veteran Henning Berg also gives him the option of playing the young Georgian, Zurab Khizanishvili, in midfield. 'But we have a match at Motherwell on Sunday to get past first, so I won't know how we're placed until after that,' McLeish says. 'It's strange that Fergie and I haven't met, even in a testimonial or a friendly, in my nine years as a manager, so this is one to savour. I'll be impressing that on our players, too, to enjoy themselves and relish every minute of it.' As for Ferguson, it will be business as usual. 'It's a Champions League game, that's why the players are up for it. I'm going to be keyed up for it, too, but the hype is an absolute nuisance. On the first day after the draw the Scottish papers were running stories calling it my chance for revenge. Complete nonsense, I've never sought revenge in my life. It's not an issue. I'm not even one of those people who look out for their old club's results. I don't look at Aberdeen's results, I don't look at Rangers' results.' Nor Celtic's, one assumes. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark Printer at MyInks.com. Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada. http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511 http://us.click.yahoo.com/mOAaAA/3exGAA/qnsNAA/tsUolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************** Reply to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe from the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! 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