STEVEN MacLean was in the commentary booth when his St Johnstone team-mates fluffed their lines at Ibrox in the League Cup last season. The former Rangers striker was sidelined with a knee problem last October when the Perth side put in a pallid display against Ally McCoist’s side so as his team-mates went down to Lewis Macleod’s late header, he had the added misfortune of having to share his thoughts on the subject with the nation.
Now, after the precaution of being excused league duty on Kilmarnock’s artificial surface, MacLean returns to his old stomping ground on Tuesday with his confidence bolstered by six goals in his last four games.
Mark Warburton’s side have played fluent football this season but Tommy Wright’s outfit hope to ask them some difficult questions. For one, how much damage could MacLean and pacy wide man Michael O’Halloran do in the spaces left by Lee Wallace and James Tavernier when they get forward? The former Celtic and Bolton winger has a habit of providing the ammunition for many of MacLean’s close-range finishes.
“I have watched them [Rangers] a bit and they look very well drilled,” said MacLean. “The two full-backs like to bomb on and they do look dangerous. But if I was a full-back, then I wouldn’t be bombing on too far if I had Michael O’Halloran to chase. Lee Wallace is a good player but if he is as quick as Michael then good luck to him.”
MacLean looks more assured as the focal point of a strike force with each passing season but a stint under Dick Advocaat then Alex McLeish at Ibrox was the making of him. Back then, the Rangers squad was a different kind of formidable. The player’s rivals for a first-team spot included Michael Mols, Ronald de Boer, Shota Arveladze and Gabriel Amato, with other spots in the first team taken up by the likes of Arthur Numan, Jorg Albertz, Mikel Arteta, Tugay, Sergio Porrini and Craig Moore. It was only when it became clear he was fifth or sixth in the pecking order that his career continued down south, with detours at Scunthorpe, Sheffield United, Cardiff City and Plymouth Argyle.
“Most of my movement I learned while I was at Rangers,” he said. “The movement of guys like De Boer, Arveladze and Mols was just incredible and I certainly learned a great deal training with these guys everyday.
“It was a good upbringing under youth-team coaches John Brown and John McGregor and it certainly didn’t do me any harm. I remember I was in the squad for the Scottish Cup final against Dundee and the players made me me so welcome.”
Tuesday night should provide a few more answers on the thorny subject of where precisely this Rangers team would fit in to the Ladbrokes Premiership hierarchy. MacLean reckons top three and feels the Ibrox side deserve to be favourites on the night, but St Johnstone as ever will relish the role of underdogs.
“I would expect them to finish in the top three,” said the 33-year-old. “The longer Rangers go the better they will be. They are going to get better players and spend money, so to play them at the moment is the best time.
“I personally want Rangers back in the Premiership, I think most people in Scottish football would want them back in, apart from certain Celtic fans. As a player you want to go to the best stadiums, play against the best players, and play in front of 50,000 fans.”
Manager Wright said: “I have watched them and they have been good. But like any opposition manager I have identified ways we can get some joy. We certainly can’t go there and park the bus. We will drive the bus and see if we can win the game.”
MacLean’s last visit to Ibrox was in Aberdeen colours, ending in a 3-1 defeat. Playing in defence for Rangers that day were Danny Wilson and David Weir. “There has been a lot of water under the bridge since then,” he said.
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