Rangers get their man but Robinson blames Mercer for departure

clear that his predecessor, Wallace Mercer, was the man to blame for the

international defender's departure.

As McLaren, who will make his debut for Rangers in the Old Firm match

at Hampden on Sunday, was struggling through the rush-hour Edinburgh to

Glasgow traffic, Robinson was back in the capital doing his best to make

sure everyone understood why the 23-year-old central defender had to

move.

''We are disappointed he is leaving Tynecastle, but the sale is a

direct result of the previous board's undertaking to the Bank of

Scotland,'' said Robinson, after having welcomed Dave McPherson back to

Tynecastle as part of the #2m deal. ''The facilities provided in April

of this year to construct the Wheatfield Stand were conditional on those

borrowings being reduced by the sale of players.''

Mercer, whose influence, it seems, continues to linger around

Tynecastle, responded from his home in the south of France, stressing

that the new board knew and agreed that selling was the only option.

''We had no choice but to comply with the Taylor Report once the

supporters made it clear they wanted to stay at Tynecastle,'' Mercer

insisted.

''We had to raise #3m and launched a subscription scheme to add to a

#1m grant from the Football Trust. Supporters contributed more than

#500,000 and, in addition to my personal #1m guarantee, that gave the

bank a degree of comfort.''

Mercer added that the new board and the other groups who had shown an

interest in acquiring Hearts all understood that selling a player was a

fixed position and agreed that was the only solution.

''I congratulate the board and manager Tommy McLean for concluding the

deal and this part of our business plan,'' Mercer said.

Robinson's final word was to point out that the aim of his board is to

ensure that in future the club will not be put in a position of having

to sell its best players. ''A successful outcome of our Club Share issue

should help to ensure that this ambition is fulfilled,'' he said.

Despite what Hearts' bankers may have been demanding it seemed the

fates were conspiring against a Rangers-McLaren union right to the end.

A deal which was agreed three weeks ago was only concluded in the dark

of night after McLaren had been delayed en route to Glasgow.

His new manager, Walter Smith, paced up and down the corridor outside

the Blue Room at Ibrox. Inside, everything was ready and waiting.

Cameras were trained and pencils were poised.

Smith continued to pace, shooting anxious glances at his watch, but

eventually McLaren appeared and spoke, staccato style, for he is a young

man of few words, briefly of his relief at having made it to Ibrox.

''It's been on and off for a while, but the deal is done now and I'm

looking forward to the Old Firm game,'' he said.

''I've heard about these matches and now I'm about to get first-hand

experience of them.''

It should be to Rangers' benefit that McLaren, who has 14 Scottish

caps, is one of those players who seem incapable of panic. Big games,

small games, they are all the same to him. He generally takes them in

his stride and it was no surprise to hear him say that it was not too

difficult to continue playing amid the transfer speculation.

Neither will it be a problem for him to compete against Celtic, who

offered #1m for him a few weeks ago. ''It makes no difference that they

tried to sign me. That's in the past.

''I was not involved in any of that but I was told an offer had been

faxed and that Hearts had rejected it immediately,'' he said.

Even though reluctant to offer lengthy responses to questions, he

still managed to say the right things so far as Rangers and their fans

are concerned. ''I've joined a big club and I hope my ambition can

match,'' . . . ''I've waited a long time to win a medal and I've come

here to win honours,'' . . . ''There's high quality here at Ibrox and

I'll have to fight for my place now.''

It certainly sounded to Smith as though his own wait had been

worthwhile and he will be looking for instant proof on the field of

play. McLaren will go straight into the side for the Hampden match and

Smith added: ''It's been a difficult deal to do and I'm very pleased to

have him with us. We can look forward to seeing him play.

''He is a player who, through the years and on various platforms, has

shown he can handle anything asked of him. To my mind, he's been a

consistent performer whose never been stretched.''

Part of McLaren's appeal is that he can perform in a variety of roles

and already has looked good in the centre of a defence or just in front

of the back line as well as in midfield. He has also been used by

Scotland to good effect as a marker.

However, Smith believes McLaren's best position is as a central

defender.

The reason the deal was concluded in a rush last night was because of

a delay in conducting a medical check on McPherson, who accounted for

#750,000 of the transfer package. McPherson was sold to Hearts for

#350,000 in 1987 and returned in a #1.3m deal in 1992.

''I've moved back to a club where I've already had five happy years

and still have a lot of good friends,'' he said. ''Now, I look forward

to the challenge of helping Hearts become a successful force in

Scotland.''