TONY Vidmar and Craig Moore were given short shrift by their club manager, Dick Advocaat, yesterday after skipping back to Scotland only to leave with tails between their legs upon discovering that their names had been omitted from the Rangers squad bound for Dundee.
Advocaat has already conveyed his contempt for Frank Farina, the coach of the Australian national side, after he demanded that the Rangers duo report for duty Down Under even though he excused Mark Schwarzer, the Middlesbrough goalkeeper, and Leeds' striking duo of Mark Viduka and Harry Kewell from the Oceania World Cup qualifying phase, in which they recorded victories by 22-0, 32-0, and 11-0.
While he stressed that their absence from this weekend's activities is not punishment for their opting to leave a squad already stretched by injury, Advocaat did add that his decision was not borne out of consideration for their physical fitness after four games in quick succession - the other against Fiji - followed by a long-haul flight back to Glasgow.
''No,'' Advocaat replied sternly when asked if either, or both, had returned with injuries. ''I didn't ask them. I just don't need them. What happened has nothing to do with the players, it is with the [Australian] coach, but I have said enough about that.''
Advocaat, a former manager of the Dutch national side, has repeatedly vented his anger at the increase in international commitments, especially outwith Europe, opining that the club, as wage-payer, should have the final say on whether or not a player is able to represent his country.
Claudio Reyna has also incurred Advocaat's wrath for the length of time spent on qualifying quests with the United States, although the captain has come to a compromise with his international coach, Bruce Arena.
If not a sanction, then the removal of the Aussie pair's domestic chores is at least a forceful reminder of where their priorities should lie. Advocaat cannot insist, and, indeed, cannot expect, Vidmar or Moore to retire from international football, but he is perfectly entitled to expect their commitment at club level and so they now find themselves pawns in a political battle which only now is being addressed by world football's governing body, FIFA.
Pre-season also promises to be a turbulent time for Rod Wallace, the English striker whose three-year contract at Ibrox expires on June 30. He has played only 15 games this season as a result of injury and loss of form but returned to favour this month after recovering from his latest complaint.
Having already rejected an improved offer for next season, the 31-year-old is subject to speculation surrounding a return to the English Premiership. Advocaat expressed his desire to see one of his first signings for the club at Ibrox again next season. While the likelihood is that he will return south, the man himself has put contract talks on hold in a bid to enjoy an uninterrupted run-in.
Advocaat was just as prickly on the thorny issue of comings and goings. He would not discuss whether or not Rangers would be willing to meet Dundee's #2m price tag for the 34-year-old Argentinian Claudio Caniggia, and he was also unwilling to give an update on their courting of Constantin Galca, Espanol's Romanian internationalist.
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