RANGERS dabbled over the weekend, but the real thing falls upon them
on Wednesday night in Athens, where the Ibrox side, who finished third
in their own four-club international challenge tournament, have to get
it exactly right, or the lucrative Champions' League will be beyond
them.
Failure to take a place in the league sections of the European Cup
does not bear thinking about, not only for Rangers, but Scottish
football in general. Celtic supporters may not agree, but a couple of
seasons ago when Rangers reached and then performed admirably in the
Champions' League, almost making it to the final, the entire game in
Scotland was given a lift.
Their success gave our football a degree of credibility which was
needed, especially since the World Cup qualifying campaign was not
progressing well. If Rangers beat AEK Athens, and, frankly, if we are
being realistic they should win over the two legs of their preliminary
tie, they would be assured six glamour matches, and everyone would
benefit from the presence in this country of teams like European
champions AC Milan and Ajax. They would provide welcome relief from the
premier division.
Of course, Rangers are not to be regarded as some kind of
philanthropic club, because they are in this first and foremost for
themselves, and are anxious to reap the considerable financial benefits
which would help them become even stronger and more dominant in their
domestic playground.
Other clubs will not be too happy to see Rangers gaining the money to
buy more players, but the Ibrox side cannot be faulted for wishing to
set new standards and stride out towards more distant horizons. Others
with ambition also will have to reach out.
Although the Ibrox tournament was a friendly, Rangers supporters saw
on Friday night, when Sampdoria recovered from a two-goal deficit and
beat Walter Smith's side 4-2, just how much work has still to be done.
The Italians, who won the competition when they beat Newcastle United
3-1 in Saturday's final, have just resumed work after their summer
break, but were a cut above.
Their work on and off the ball was superior to that of Rangers,
Manchester United, or Newcastle, whose manager, Kevin Keegan, admitted
his side were given a lesson. However, he held out hope for Rangers by
reminding everyone that for half-an-hour on Friday night the Ibrox side
had ''destroyed the Italians.''
He did not think it was particularly relevant to read too much into
the Ibrox competition and try to fit it into a European context at this
stage, pointing out: ''When Rangers were two up, they had a good chance
to score a third, and had they done so, we might all have been talking
about them.''
Even so, Smith knows that there is a way for his team to go, and
Wednesday night offers his players an opportunity to secure a place
among the best, and mixing regularly with exalted company is one way of
improving. The manager knows how important this tie against Athens is
and he has tried to overcome the difficulty of an early-season start by
preparing well with five challenge matches.
''We have played three abroad and two at home and I will have to look
and see which players are properly match fit,'' he said. ''There are
bumps and bruises, but no injuries which will keep anyone out of the
team if I want to select him.''
Smith will take all 22 players who were involved over the weekend, and
even though Basile Boli cannot play in Greece because of suspension --
an unfortunate legacy from his days as a Marseille player -- Rangers
will still have six non-nationals in the eyes of UEFA with them in
Greece. Only three -- probably Trevor Steven, Brian Laudrup, and Mark
Hateley can play -- but that ought to be enough.
It is a comfort also that Andy Goram, who played against Sampdoria,
but stood down to let Ally Maxwell keep goal against Manchester United,
and Ally McCoist appear to be ready. The striker stressed that he has
not felt better for some time, even though he played in both matches.
''I feel good and believe I am sharper than at any time last season,
which was a poor one for me because of injury and a shortage of goals,''
he said. ''I have not scored for some time and it would be nice to find
the net again in Greece.''
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