'While Smith and Murray move and spend, Celtic stumble from one
transfer letdown to another'
RANGERS swooped to sign defender Gordan Petric from Dundee United
yesterday and emphasised yet again just how far they are pushing
themselves ahead of the rest of Scottish football.
The Ibrox side look likely to boost their summer spending spree by
another #1.5m today when Oleg Salenko appears in Glasgow for signing
talks. The Valencia-based Russian had been linked with the Ibrox side
and now it seems he will join Petric in a double signing which
emphasises the club's determined spending policy.
Already they have spent #6m on Paul Gascoigne and Gordan Petric, and
have agreed a #1.5m fee with Aberdeen for Stephen Wright. Salenko now
joins that summer signing cast.
Petric had been a target for Celtic. It appeared that they had refused
to meet the asking price of Tannadice chairman Jim McLean.
But yesterday, Rangers manager Walter Smith, who had jetted back from
his club's pre-season tour of Denmark, agreed terms with his mentor and
Petric will be playing for Rangers in the European Cup.
The gap between the Glasgow giants appears to grow wider and wider.
There is no doubt that Smith and his chairman, David Murray, want
success in Europe this season, and Rangers do want another striker.
Rangers also know that their vast support wants to find further
success at home, particularly by winning 10 championships in succession
and so defeating the Celtic record set up by the late Jock Stein.
While Smith and Murray move and spend, Celtic stumble from one
transfer letdown to another, something which must make their now vast
army of shareholders wonder what is happening.
The loss of Petric, who was signed by United from Partizan Belgrade
for #600,000 almost two years ago, is a bitter blow to manager Tommy
Burns who saw him as an integral part of his defence in the coming
season.
Burns believed he had agreed a deal with his Dundee United
counterpart, Billy Kirkwood, before leaving on the club's tour of
Germany.
The fact that Rangers had time to move in for the Slav defender will
do nothing to foster relations between Burns and Celtic chairman, Fergus
McCann, who authorises all transactions at Parkhead.
With emerging Scotland defender Brian O'Neil out until the new year,
Burns needed a high quality replacement. Now he must resume his search
on the continent, but, as a club source pointed out last night, the
available talent diminishes every day and it will now become even more
difficult for him to find the right man.
Rangers' capture will also cause bitter resentment among the Celtic
support who have seen the club upstaged once again in the transfer
market at a time when there was ample finance to clinch a deal.
Petric will now settle into the new Ibrox defensive formation which
Smith insists he will persevere with in the new season. It is one that
the former Yugoslav international will be happy with, a style of play he
always has been used to.
Smith wants to play three central defenders and now he will do so in a
back five which is composed entirely of international players.
There will be Stephen Wright and David Robertson pushing forward from
the full back positions and in the middle Richard Gough will team up
with Alan McLaren and the new signing Petric.
Behind them there will be the rejuvenated Andy Goram, all of which
presents an awesome picture for the rest of the Scottish premier
division.
Yesterday, as he was completing the deal, Smith said: ''Whenever we
heard that Petric was available we moved to get him.
''We believe that we need to play with three at the back and he will
fit into this superbly. I am delighted to get him. We wanted to spend
money this summer for our supporters and we have done so.''
I understand that Smith has been tracking the defender for some months
but once he was alerted that United would be ready to sell he made his
move swiftly.
As the Celtic deal collapsed, Smith moved in and now Petric will be
with the champions and Celtic must, once again, look elsewhere.
It is a blow for the prestige of the Parkhead club, and a blow for
their owner, Fergus McCann, who has still to deliver the major signings
he has promised.
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