Injury woes mount at 'threadbare' Rangers as fringe men get chance

NORMALLY the query "any injuries?" is the necessary pre-amble before a press briefing can begin in earnest, the casually-tossed 'softie' which prepares the way for a discussion about more thorny issues. Given the current situation at Rangers, however, this is the thorny issue – together with the other obvious one.

Walter Smith refused to broach something he agreed was the elephant in the room, insisting that it was still straightforward. By this it was presumed he meant nothing had changed since last Friday, when Rangers released a statement which stated skipper Barry Ferguson and goalkeeper Allan McGregor had been suspended by the club for two weeks, with their wages donated to charity, following the pair's poor conduct while on Scotland duty. At the same time on the same day, the Scottish Football Association revealed neither would play again for Scotland.

It was all straightforward until Thursday, when SFA chief executive Gordon Smith's held a briefing during a board meeting at Hampden Park. Scotland manager George Burley had just delivered a report on what occurred at Cameron House, and then later on the bench against Iceland, to ten board members. Smith prompted confusion with his refusal to confirm that the Scotland careers of both Ferguson and McGregor were indeed over following an SFA review of the incidents.

The Rangers manager's commitment to silence is therefore perhaps wise as he attempts to re-focus sights on the Scottish Premier League title. However, a brief comment from him earlier this week did hint at Ferguson and McGregor being able to save their Ibrox careers after their repeated misadventures of last week, which culminated in an ultimate show of disrespect to Smith. "There's a possibility of reconciliation between the players and the club if they show a properly contrite attitude when I see them next week," Smith said. "I don't have anything to say beyond that at the moment."

Smith was true to his word yesterday. There is, of course, enough on his plate at present. The injury chronicles took up much of yesterday's briefing ahead of this afternoon's clash with Motherwell at Ibrox. There is also the added concern of league imposed suspension. This is a perennial problem at this stage of the season, particularly if a team has generally managed to avoid a proliferation of yellow and red cards in the opening months. Kris Boyd's booking against St Mirren in midweek has left him on 15 disciplinary points, and on the threshold
of a suspension, while the yellow card shown for dissent to Madjid Bougherra on the same night has ruled him out of the first match after the split.

Smith viewed both bookings as incredibly soft. They helped establish the impression that little is going his way at present, save for results. He also contemplated the paradox of a team boasting a fair disciplinary record being punished for it at a crucial stage of the campaign. "When your disciplinary record is reasonable, these suspensions often come at the end of the season," he pondered. "If your discipline record has been poor, suspensions come a lot earlier and you normally get a bit of leeway at the end."

Rangers can expect a thunderous reception at Ibrox this afternoon after two vital victories on the road. The controversies of last week have engendered a new sense of purpose within the team and in the stands. Whether or not Ferguson and McGregor play for the club again they might both still have an impact on the title race. No-one is defending their actions, but the inevitable result of the pair's absence is that those remaining among rapidly dwindling numbers have vowed to grab their chance to shine.

Rangers are without nine players today. On top of Ferguson and McGregor's club-enforced absence, seven more have been ruled out due to injury. DaMarcus Beasley and Sasa Papac were the latest two added to this list having been taken off with knocks during Wednesday night's 2-1 win at St Mirren. Smith revealed that Papac will definitely be fit again for next weekend's clash with Hibernian. Beasley, too, looks set to have recovered from bruised ribs in time to feature in the last match before the league split.

But Smith is still left with a headache ahead of today's fixture. Celtic's earlier assignment with Hearts at Tynecastle means it is possible Rangers could kick-off in the knowledge that a win would narrow – or indeed swallow up – the three-point gap which currently exists between the rivals.

"We have seven out injured so it leaves us a wee bit threadbare," admitted Smith. "We had quite a run of injuries last season at this stage. Obviously we had a lot more games and we were fortunate that we kept getting people back every now and again. The problem we have just now is that we're not quite sure when they will come back.

"We're now using a few boys who have not had the opportunity to be involved before but their attitude has been great towards getting selected again," he continued. "As a manager you sometimes worry when bringing in somebody that's not featured for a while. But all the boys that are featuring have shown a really good attitude and want to play."

One player Smith knew he could rely on is Christian Dailly, who is likely to step-in at right-back today. The current situation is exactly why he handed the versatile player an extra one-year contract in July. Smith joked that things were so bad he had briefly considered playing Dailly up front, where he began his career as a 16 year-old with Dundee United.

"Christian is as good a professional as I have come across in my time here," said Smith. "You won't meet a fitter player. Davie Weir is hitting 39 and I can say with a great deal of certainty that Christian, if he wants to, can reach that as well.

"His dedication to his fitness is fantastic. He's a great role model for the young players in our place. Nobody trains harder than he does."

"He still lives in London, and so he misses the occasional day of training," he added. "But when he misses training, he trains on his own. His experience has also been great for us."