Ferguson reignites Rangers' title bid

BARRY Ferguson gave Rangers a huge lift in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League title race by claiming the only goal of the game against Motherwell at Ibrox last night.

The captain came to the rescue with a late strike to hand Rangers their first SPL victory since the 1-0 win over Celtic at the same venue on 29 March.

Rangers are now four points behind their Old Firm rivals with two games in hand and four trophies in their sights.

Dundee United are next up in the league on Saturday before next week's Uefa Cup final as a dramatic season reaches its climax. The crowded fixture list was criticised again yesterday, with former Rangers manager Dick Advocaat, now in charge of Uefa Cup final opponents Zenit St Petersburg, describing his old club's predicament as a "farce".

Scotland manager George Burley also voiced criticism of the situation, and called for a radical restructuring of Scottish domestic football to ensure no club is ever again faced with the controversial logjam of fixtures currently engulfing the Ibrox as they approach their first European final for 36 years.

Burley believes Rangers are being treated unfairly, albeit as a consequence of a set of circumstances no-one could have predicted. In a season which will see Rangers play a record 19 games in European competition, Burley says it is time to explore the possibility of reducing the number of league games played in Scotland and also the scrapping of replays in the Scottish Cup.

"Football is changing and we have to change with it," said Burley. "I think it is ridiculous at this stage of the season for Rangers to have as many games as they do in such a short space of time. It is something that shouldn't be allowed to happen again.

"It is something the SPL and everyone else involved in the game here has to look at. There is more European football than ever before, with teams dropping out of the Champions League into the Uefa Cup, and we have to look at how we can handle that better.

"It is a magnificent achievement for Rangers to reach the Uefa Cup final. To see one of our teams there is tremendous and shows how strong the Scottish game is. So it is totally unfair asking them to play so many games at this stage. They are being punished for being successful.

"The whole structure of the game has to be looked at. There are a number of factors we can think about, whether it is reducing the number of league games we play or just playing more of them in the early part of the season. Getting rid of all cup replays is another possibility."

Burley suffered his own problems as a result of the Scottish football calendar when the squad for his first game in charge of the international team, against Croatia in March, was hit by a raft of withdrawals. Four Rangers players and Barry Robson of Celtic pulled out of the match which was staged just three days before an Old Firm league game at Ibrox.

"That was difficult and it would be better if Old Firm games were not scheduled close to international dates," said Burley. "There has to be communication between the various bodies, the SPL and the SFA, to solve these problems.

"What is happening to Rangers is not right and it has to be addressed for the future. It is not realistic to ask a team to play seven games in 18 days at such an important stage of the season.

"We have to look at the whole set-up to prevent any club being put in this kind of position again."