Weir clocking up the miles, but plenty left in tank

WHATEVER fuel is being pumped into the recently launched Rangers-branded Superleague racing car, they could do worse than find the formula enabling David Weir to perform at the consistent level he does each week, and which on Wednesday will help him become Scotland's oldest European finalist.

The centre-half turns 38 today, and, following this afternoon's league fixture with Dundee United, will be among the first to begin the Ibrox exodus down the M6. Weir's family home is on the Manchester side of Cheshire, which, when compared to the lodging arrangements of many Rangers fans, is close enough to be considered on the doorstep of the City of Manchester stadium, where Zenit St Petersburg will stand between the Ibrox side's attempt to reach second base in a possible four-trophy haul.

Weir is already blessed with a quadruple – four children, the youngest of whom is aged two – so there is little room at the inn as superdad's date with destiny, and the record books, approaches.

Both Ronnie Simpson and Gary McAllister were 36 and undeniably veteran when they played for Celtic and Liverpool, in the 1967 European Cup final and the 2001 Uefa Cup final respectively. In light of the furore caused by presenter Kate Garraway's recent confession that she lied about her age, there is some hesitation when broaching an often sensitive subject, though Weir, casually dressed and sipping an iced latte in a bright Glasgow cafe, is rightly content to savour the distinction of being head of an exclusive club.

"I know that in a Scotland match programme recently it had me down as one of the top five oldest players to play for Scotland," he recalled. "The vast majority of them were goalkeepers, and I was proud of that. This is an achievement too. It's something I take a bit of pride in and have worked hard at. More and more players are playing later. Who's to say when you are too old?"

It is ironic to think that not so very long ago there was talk of a Monster Munch culture at Ibrox. The evidence of this season would suggest the saltiness has been restricted to revelations about goalkeeper Allan McGregor's love-life, with the squad having otherwise proved themselves to be paragons of virtue, more likely to plunge into freezing ice-baths than headlong into controversy. Weir is the embodiment of this, committed to both his family and own physical conditioning and motivated by a still-powerful desire to play football in his late-thirties, and possibly beyond.

Against all odds, Weir's 16th campaign as a senior professional – it might have been more, but a four-year scholarship at university in the States held up his arrival on the scene, at Falkirk – is turning out to be the most memorable. His significant contribution to Scotland's famous victory over France in Paris in September seems to belong to another story arc but is part of this same, remarkable tale, with Weir also tasting the group stage of the Champions League for the first time.

Having won only two trophies in his career to date – the 1998 Scottish Cup with Hearts, the tenth anniversary of which is on Friday, was his only honour until Rangers' League Cup win in March – he now stands on the brink of three more. Given the sustained nature of his achievements, which include an eight-year career in the Premiership with Everton, it would be wrong to say Weir's career has bloomed with the suddenness of a tropical flower, but a feeling certainly exists that this season could provide him with a perfect finale.

Even should Rangers, hampered by fatigue and injury, implode in agonising fashion at the death, it remains an intriguing question to ponder where Weir might go from here, and one he won't attempt to answer until he wakes up on the morning after the Scottish Cup final. Typically for someone whose activity embarrasses most 20-year-olds, he will spend the day at Largs, training for his A-licence coaching badge. This is not, though, a sign that he is preparing to hang up those familiar white boots, something else which distinguishes a player who has proved so adept at conforming to a young man's game.



"I don't have a big enough ego to think I should go out at the top," he said. "If we win the Uefa Cup I'd just think about what is the next game? I wouldn't think what a great achievement that was, I think I have to retire now. I just don't work like that.

"I want to play, that's the bottom-line. Where that will be I don't know. I don't know if Rangers want to offer me another year. I don't know if I want to be there for another year, purely because of the family side of things. There's a lot to consider. There's not been an opportunity to speak to the manager (Walter Smith] about it. The agreement is that at the end of the season we'll sit down and see what the plans are."

Weir possesses a refined sense of knowing when it is time to move on, and only once regrets not acting upon it. A decision to stay on a further season at Everton in 2006 did not provide him with the expected game-time. His present situation is further complicated by the long spells away from home necessitated by his working life being in Glasgow, over 200 miles north. It has never been easy to leave his children when beginning the long drives back to Scotland, but the older they get the more aware they are of his absence. This will play on his mind when he sits down with Smith later this month, tracks of glory perhaps freshly lain behind them.

"Walter's the kind of man who, if he brings in another centre-half, or another two, then I think, or would hope, he would say to me: 'I don't think you are going to play as much next season'," said Weir. "And I want to play. I'd always gamble on myself being able to get into the team and rise to the challenge – I have no problem with that – but you never know what the plans are for the club. Rangers might spend £50 million in the summer and buy five internationals. If that is the case then I will be somewhere else, I am sure."

Should he leave, then one of the most successful centre-back partnerships in modern times at Ibrox will have been broken up after just one season. Indeed, it is possible for him to stay and still not have Carlos Cuellar beside him, with the Spaniard having attracted interest – as well as rave reviews – this season.

"I have always done quite well on that front," reflected Weir, with reference to his centre-half partners. "I have played with John 'Yogi' Hughes at Falkirk, and at Hearts I was primarily alongside Paul Ritchie, and I thought I had a good partnership with him. At Everton I played with a few like Richard Gough and Dave Watson, but it was Alan Stubbs primarily. I felt I had a good partnership with him as well, and then up here now it's the same with Carlos.

"It's part of the spine of your team, and I think it is important you have a settled unit there," he continued. "I played against Carlos when we faced Osasuna in the Uefa Cup and knew how good he was then. But you worried about whether he would adapt. There's always a question mark over any new player coming to a club. But he did it from the first minute. You get a feeling for people. He came in smiling and wanting to learn, and wasn't precious in any way. That was a great start. You know what we are like in Scotland – it's a 'we are who we are, like it or lump it' mentality. He just slotted right into the dressing-room."

Cuellar has benefitted from having someone as composed as Weir alongside him, although the veteran has not always proved unflappable. The sight of Weir holding Gary Caldwell by the throat after the last-but-one Old Firm derby seemed like a breach in nature, and earned both players a red card. It did mean Weir had to sit out a game, a possibly favourable outcome given this marathon season. He attributes the surprising flash of temper to frustration – it was his first Old Firm defeat after four wins on the bounce – and isn't even convinced it was worthy of censure. It certainly did not merit referee Kenny Clark's stern manner afterwards, where he treated Weir like a recalcitrant schoolboy.



"I was told the ref wanted to see me in his room and I went in asked what I had done?" he recalled. "He answered: 'I am not here to answer your questions. You will be reported to the SFA for violent conduct – now get out'.

"That's what frustrates me. 'Coisty (Ally McCoist] came in with me and spoke to him, and tried to get to the bottom of it. And he was told get out or you will get a red card too."

This, though, is not the thorniest issue to be tackled. The elephant in the room is the topic of Scotland, with George Burley having the previous day named the second successive squad not to feature the 61-times capped Weir. Eventually the subject is broached. "I have spoken to him (Burley] about it and he's said I am in his plans for September," revealed Weir.

"He phoned me after we had just won the League Cup and told me I wasn't in his first squad. I never really saw that coming."

This matter can be addressed later, for few players have had such cause to focus on the here and now.

smith lands manager of the year award, page 4