The Training Matches Are Over Now....

[Helicopter Sundae 6,192]

Stuart McCall was brought in as manager, basically when all hope of winning the league was dead and buried.

Not one player did he buy, even the loanees he had zero input into.

And what a mixed bag we were delivered there.

He could not buy in one single player: he had to work with precisely what others had left him with.

He was handed a role, which was simply to pick off the floor, possibly the most demotivated and fucked-up players who have ever worn the Royal Blue. Ever.

McCoist and the other one had allowed some decent players to fester, and lose confidence, fitness and motivation.

He was in no position to avoid the play offs, that is a fact.

His impact could have been to rescue some of the season by getting second place, but this failed.

He has now had the time to assess every player.

He has just proved that he has the balls to put Jig an the bench, and Hertz handed him a lesson....basically in his final training session.

The matches coming up are cup finals, albeit like European ties over 2 legs, and that factor has to be brought in.

He has had the time and experience with all his players to know who he can trust, and who MUST be dropped.

If he has to act the hard bastard, he had better get it done.

These matches before the play offs were his chance to assess. Now he has to know what must be done.

Good luck Stuart.

[Gandalf007 52]

Good post that mate; pretty much what been going through my head the past couple of weeks

Hopefully he's been working towards the playoffs and has an idea of formations and personnel for each game and has the strength to drop the undropables!

We live in hope!

[gmcf 34,645]

Couldn't agree more.

I criticised AMcC , unlike others who thought we should have depended on youngsters , but because he got players with spl experience , had played in SC finals , LC finals and were internationalists , and hadn't a clue how to play them.

Same applies to SMcC. He has the same players , albeit not his own team , but good enough to play against teams with players that most of us have never heard of .

Interim period is over , SMcC has to deliver now , no more mistakes , to even have any chance of the gig.

[crazy bob swollenbaws 1,916]

Good post.

I just prey that mccall was secretly treating these as training matches to suss out players, formations etc.

Second place was easily achievable for us. Bringing with it one less hurdle to cross.

He must see now that jig, boyd etc must be nowhere.near the pitch

[SeparateEntityMyArse 54,288]

I get the jist of it but one thing bothers me.

Mccall has had what 10 games now and each of them should have been cup finals.

The draw at home to falkirk, when we still had 2nd in our own hands, but played poorly and without much drive or passion told a huge story............collectively this lot don't have the ability or bottle.

We keep hoping rather than believing, which is justified after the let downs of the last 3 years.

Just dont think the players want it enough or are good enough and am not sure Mccall can do enough to change that.

[pcbear 10,924]

6 cup finals ahead, will the real Rangers please stand up.

Imho SM rates a 7/10 he has had to play with the cards he was dealt and done ok, big test ahead.

[Copland bear 7,966]

Does anyone know how the away goal rule stands, do goals count as double if tied equal after both legs 90min? do they only count as double if it goes into extra time? Or do away goals just the same as a regular match?

[Rangerclackman 167]

Good post mate, totally agree

[10pshortof17pound 2,527]

Does anyone know how the away goal rule stands, do goals count as double if tied equal after both legs 90min? do they only count as double if it goes into extra time? Or do away goals just the same as a regular match?

No away goals rule. If tied at end of second leg goes to extra time and penalties if still tied at end of extra time.

[NeoGeo7 10,627]

Really good post.

I think it's easy to forget just how bad this squad really is at times and that McCall didn't put any of it together.......but that doesn't mean I can excuse decisions like putting Boyd ahead of Gallagher just because he scored 2 for development league team (after refusing to play for them) while Gallagher has scored more league goals than Boyd in the championship and then comes back to score almost every game for the development team.

And don't get me started on mcculloch, I cannot fathom what went on in his head yesterday to make that substitution. You dropped him and played mcgregor in his favoured position and it was working. Clean sheet by 80 mins so why the hell would you bring mcculloch on and reshuffle the defence?

So I hope the OP is right in saying McCall has used the games as a way to gauge the squad however I suspect he was trying to get second. If we had won every game under McCall going into the play offs we'd be buzzing and teams would fear us but looking at another post its Actually us who are in fear of QoS.

Saturday 9th May will be the marker in the ground. We go to a ground where we have lost twice, scored none and conceded 5 to play our quarter final first leg. McCall needs to have learnt from the mistakes of his last trip and mccoist failures at the first attempt there. For me if mcculloch is in that starting 11 then my worst fears will have come true, McCall cannot learn from his mistakes.

[Bad Robot 21,512]

If you think back the Gardener always said promotion was the main priority even if it was a play off.

These players have also known themselves that a play off position was as close to a guarantee as you can get in football and that has probably been some part of the problem.

Most probably think they're too good and that they don't belong down in the championship and again this is probably part of the same motivational problem.

No matter what, the OP is right and the long training sessions are over.

This is now the business end of the season and it's now time for them to step up and play.

It's time for the majority of this group to find their passion and to start to learn what the word pride really means.

They have a chance to repair some of their badly damaged reputations as footballers and I believe they will take that chance.

If not, they will deserve the scorn from everyone if they remain the abject failure we have seen so many times over the last three years.

We need promotion no matter how ugly it gets.

It's pivotal.

[Orange Persson 548]

I would love to think this could be done. Win through 3 sets of home and away ties?

I ask the question; Are we dreaming a bit though? Considering what has went on this year with Managers, Squad and Board?

The sequence of events this year has to be the worst prep for a task like this. Hopeful and supportive I am, with the usual Rangers pride but realistic as well. We will have to react properly to the reality of another season here if it happens.

That will be important if the dream fails. Make no mistake. If we go up ,it will be a dream come true, all considering.

Anyway, one game at a time and it may be possible.

[True Azure 1,414]

Agree with the OP. However, I'm concerned that the bottle needed by quite a few in our current squad will fail to materialise. I fervently hope that I am wrong in this judgement and that S McC can manage to instill the required grit and passion into his choice of players for these play offs. One thing is certain though, courage, fight and determination will need to be displayed in every game to ensure that we gain promotion and I'm still unsure that certain players have these qualities deep within them?

[The Dude 20,026]

Personally I'd have preferred if he'd used training sessions as training sessions and had players motivated to win games against sides fighting relegation.

So far he's shown very little that makes me think he has it in him to get through the playoffs.