RANGERS defender Carlos Cuellar blasted the Scottish Premier League for their refusal to allow Walter Smith's team added time to prepare for last night's Uefa Cup final.
Cuellar believes they would have been in a stronger position to compete with Zenit St Petersburg if the game against Dundee United last Saturday had been postponed. Zenit have had recent games postponed to aid their preparation.
Cuellar said: "We
have had too many games in such a short space of time and it is crazy. We had a very good chance to win a European trophy but the SPL did not want to help us.
"I don't understand why that was and if we had not played Dundee United on Saturday, we would have looked more comfortable.
"We would have had more recovery time for this match and I think we would have been able to create more chances when we attacked.
"We would have been able to come forward a little faster but as it was, I think we looked a little tired going upfield and we didn't have a lot of opportunities to score."
The SPL stressed it was not possible to rearrange games at this late stage of the league season without affecting the integrity of the competition. Any postponement would almost certainly have pushed back the end of the season.
Cuellar said: "This season, I think I have played 62 games and in Spain, I would maybe play 38 or 40 times in a year.
"All we needed was the SPL to help us make history by extending the season by one week only but I don't know why they didn't want to help us win this trophy."
However, Rangers assistant manager Ally McCoist refused to blame Rangers' defeat on the SPL's refusal to postpone the United game.
"It might have given the lads a bit of a break," McCoist said. "But that's what happens when you're a successful club. It possibly might have benefited us."
McCoist was also diplomatic over what appeared a strong handball shout for his team in the second half. "I didn't see it," he said. "People were shouting and we might have had a claim."
McCoist had little doubt that the Ibrox side would be back on their league game for the trip to Fir Park. "They'll lift themselves," McCoist said. "They've got a domestic treble to play for."
The full article contains 402 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
