Smith: Europe comes ahead of fixture pile-up
Europa League remains a priority for Rangers despite fixture pile-up, admits Walter Smith
Europa League remains a priority for Rangers despite fixture pile-up, admits Walter Smith
Rangers will not downgrade the Europa League in their priorities – they play Sporting Lisbon at home on Thursday in the first leg of the round of 32 – even though progress in the tournament could see their campaign on four fronts overwhelmed by fixture congestion, as it was in 2008.
Getting shirty: Kyle Bartley promotes Rangers' Europa League tie against Sporting Lisbon
Success against the Portuguese side would guarantee another two midweek fixtures for Rangers in a schedule already complicated by postponed league matches as well as the Scottish Cup fifth-round replay away to Celtic on March 2.
“How could we ‘downplay’ the Europa League? We cannot do that,” said Rangers manager Walter Smith. “In football management, you spend your whole career trying to instil a winning mentality in your players. At Rangers, you always try to win every game.
“That is what we are here for. That’s what we will do against Sporting Lisbon. I will make judgments on who I feel is best to play in what game. Fitness comes into it and sharpness but after trying to motivate a group to win, how do you say to them, ‘We don’t?’ We want to be as successful in the Europa League in 2011 as we were in the Uefa Cup in 2008.
“That’s what we will attempt to – no matter how it affects fixtures. We are still only talking about scenarios. If we don’t do well in some games, there will be some spaces for fixtures. That’s why I make no bones in saying I hope we do have a problem.
“We had four games in seven days the last time. Whether it will come to that or not we will have to wait and see. If it is not unusual for us now to have a few games postponed, with the winters we have in Scotland, then anyone doing well in Europe is liable to have a fixture pile-up.
“To me it looks like if we have a few games off then any side that happens to get through in Europe is penalised by that success. So the SPL are maybe going to have to look at that on a general basis going forward.
“I appreciate how difficult it is to schedule fixtures. This is not a complaint from me – it is just an observation and there’s no easy answer to it.
“The SPL split is part of the issue because it cuts down the number of available midweek dates for games to be squeezed in.
“But we are doing away with the split are we not? If so, that part of the problem will be eradicated.”
More immediately, Rangers entertain Motherwell on Saturday afternoon as they attempt to keep pace in the SPL title race with Celtic, who are five points ahead but have played two games more. Rangers have Kyle Lafferty available again but the knee injury to Lee McCulloch, which threatens to keep him out for the rest of the season, has deprived Smith of a key player.
“I would not prejudge any poll but I did think McCulloch would have been a candidate for Player of the Year this season,” said the Rangers manager. “He would have been in my eyes, put it that way. Kyle Bartley may be able to play in there. He is an adaptable young guy.”
The Arsenal teenager, whose recognised position is in central defence, was one of Smith’s three loan acquisitions in January, but was on the bench for last Sunday’s Old Firm Scottish Cup derby at Ibrox and declared himself thrilled with the spectacle. “It was something else last weekend,” said the 19 year-old.
“I’ve been looking to get up to an Old Firm game for a number of years now so to actually be involved in it was an unbelievable experience.
I had a few options in January – a couple of clubs in the Championship were interested – but, given the prestige of Rangers and the competitions they are in, it was a no-brainer.”
The game marks a return to Ibrox of the former Rangers favourite, Stuart McCall, but his Motherwell side has a number of injury doubts. Keith Lasley, Stephen Craigan and Stevie Hammell could all miss the game, while Steven Saunders is suspended but new signing Francis Jeffers will be included in the squad.
Celtic are not in action until Sunday, when they face Dundee United at Tannadice. Last time these sides met there Dougie McDonald’s decision to award a penalty kick to Celtic, rescind it and then falsify his match report precipitated a sequence of events that led to Scotland’s first referee’s strike.
“I don’t think it will be as controversial as the last game but I hope the result is the same,” said Neil Lennon, alluding to Celtic’s 2-1 victory on that occasion.
When it was suggested that an extra spice would be added to this encounter because of the previous events, the Celtic manager preferred to play up the likelihood of an enjoyable football match. “People can make those assumptions but it’s a different game and different time of the season,” said Lennon. “We will have our objectives and will be trying to win the game but we know it won’t be easy.
“I watched them against Hibs a couple of weeks ago and they played very well. There is a cohesion about them and they did very well in the Scottish Cup against Hamilton last week, but with the form we are showing we should relish it.”
Celtic’s impressive run of three months’ unbeaten has been recognised in the awards for manager and player of the month for January, which went respectively to Lennon and Beram Kayal. The Israeli midfield player confessed that he had been taken entirely by surprise.
“I came in this morning and the manager told me I was player of the month and I said, ‘You are crazy!’ I thought he was kidding me on.”
The Celtic captain, Scott Brown, is rated 50-50 to start after sustaining a groin injury in the warm-up before Scotland’s Carling Nations Cup win over Northern Ireland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Wednesday night. Glenn Loovens has a virus but Thomas Rogne and James Forrest are in contention.
Dundee United are definitely without their captain, Jon Daly, who is banned and will be replaced by Johnny Russell. Danny Swanson came through a reserve game on Tuesday unscathed following back and appendix problems but Mihael Kovacevic, Darren Dods and Scott Severin are still out.
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