ShaneRalfRoss 305 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 I feared save from Samaras would end up meaning nowtBy ROGER HANNAHPublished: TodayAdd a comment Add a comment (0)ALLAN McGREGOR hurled himself to his left and made one of the saves of his life.Eight minutes from the end of the final Old Firm clash of the season and his defiant stop from Georgios Samaras' penalty secured Rangers a point in the 0-0 draw at Ibrox.He should have been on Cloud Nine.Instead fans favourite Gregsy was down in the dumps.The Scotland No 1 was convinced his penalty stop wouldn't be enough to keep Gers in with a chance of Three in a Row.Yesterday as the shut-out king soaked up Tuesday's 2-0 triumph over Dundee United he accepted the Clydesdale Bank Player of the Month award for April.And he confessed: "I'll be honest and say I didn't see us getting the advantage back."Celtic have played really well this season and I didn't expect them to drop points."At best, you perhaps hope they will draw a game but I certainly didn't envisage them getting beaten."Their result up at Caley Thistle was a big surprise - but a pleasant one."We obviously needed them to drop points somewhere along the way and it was a big boost for us when the final result came through."I was disappointed after the Old Firm match that we didn't win, rather than thinking what the penalty save might mean to us further down the line."We went into the match desperate to win the game because we wanted to keep it in our own hands and knew the only way to make sure that was the case was to take all three points."We created enough chances during the game to win the match but afterwards I thought that the title was gone. That was my gut feeling, so I wasn't thinking about saving the penalty and what it might mean."McGregor's done more than most in the quest to hand outgoing boss Walter Smith his TENTH title at Gers.The keeper believes no one deserves the silverware more than the 63-year-old dugout veteran.And he said: "The supporters at Ibrox gave the gaffer a fantastic send-off the other night. It shows just how much they appreciate what he has done for the club."It must have been an emotional night for him with it being his last ever home game."But he never makes it about himself - it's always about the team."When you look at the success he has enjoyed at this club and the trophies he has won during his two spells and under two completely different sets of circumstances, it proves just how fantastic a football manager he is. It's impossible to explain why he is as good as he is."He just has something about him - he has a special aura."He has the respect of every player and he makes everyone want to go out there and win football matches."McGregor has now kept eight clean sheets in the last nine SPL games.If he manages a shut-out at Kilmarnock on Sunday, it would be his 19th of the league campaign.QuantcastAnd the 29-year-old shot-stopper reckons he OWES it to Smith to put up the shutters on Sunday after the gaffer put him back on track following his Boozegate shame.The keeper added: "On a personal level, I have a lot to thank him for."He has been absolutely brilliant with me and for my career."There was all that rubbish with the Scotland carry on."But he showed faith in me after that and brought me back into the team which I'll always appreciate."He is a class act and it's just the man he is that makes him so special."Smith would secure his 21st major honour as Gers boss if they win at Rugby Park.McGregor stretched his cleansheet record when he pulled off a stunning second-half save to deny sub Jon Daly in the 2-0 Ibrox win over Dundee United on Tuesday night.He said: "It was only the first 35 minutes we were great against Dundee United."We didn't finish the first-half as strongly as we had started it and I also didn't think we were that great in the second half."But for spells in our recent matches we have played some excellent stuff."Everyone has clearly been galvanised after Celtic slipped up and we've gone into every game now desperate to make sure we come off the park at the end with the three points."When you get an early goal, it can make such a difference to the outcome of the game and that was certainly the case on Tuesday."Nikica Jelavic put us ahead and you could see everyone was buzzing."The second goal then makes life so much easier.Read more: http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/3575448/I-feared-save-from-Samaras-would-end-up-meaning-nowt.html#ixzz1M5vmqhEx Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingKirk 25,812 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 He is world class. He will become a rangers legend. IMO we shouldn't sell at ANY price Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaddySpook 168 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 The man is class,it is a nerve racking end to the season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goianegra 4,702 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 He's a class act. Everything about him, he's just Rangers to the core. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rab_Rangers 38 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Shagger Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasGers 96 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 He's right, how huge does that save look now? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Jela 20,662 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 If he left now he'd be remembered as a legend imo, the word gets tossed around a lot but he deserves it.Absolutely fantastic person and keeper . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
demise 3,574 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 We are so lucky to have McGregor and Alexander Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthernLights 2,526 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Fucking love Shagger. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jafrfc 614 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 He inspires confidence in the rest of the teamnwith saves like this and many others over the season. Interviews like this show that he and the rest of the team know how important it is to win on Sunday. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan_1 1,136 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 If we win the league, then for me, Allan McGregor won us the league.Over the course of the season, he has been sensational. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
real boydie9 18,010 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 :mcgregor: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Champions Again 7 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Really hope we don't let him go, without him we would have already lost this season. He is a true Rangers legend Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxo1873 201 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Shaggers ma da Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOAT 30,449 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 The save could still mean nothing unless we do the business on Sunday. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManchestGer 347 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Great article, he's come back stronger after his Scotland fiasco and speaks well in this interview. What a save that could turn out to be! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlippinEck 3,737 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Penalty save against Hamilton too Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
messiah10 58 Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 we still need to beat killie as well are gash rite now so celtic will pump themon another note kris commons last ntie ha ha fanny Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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