Confidence and Paranoia
It’s been 2 days since the hard-fought defeat of St Mirren at Love Street and Ibrox saw a particularly quiet Monday.
However, today a couple of (Minor, to a degree) stories broke the monotony and perked our interest.
Firstly speculation surrounding our fine Scottish goalkeeper Allan McGregor surfaced in that notorious red top The Sun, linking him with a move away from Glasgow down to Sheffield to enlist amongst the ranks of Utd. Although next-to-no credibility can ever be attached to this gutter tabloid’s content, there can be little doubt McGregor is a player we should wish to retain and anything mooting him with a transfer has to be watched closely. He is a talented keeper for sure, and while Le Guen has categorically demoted him in status, many supporters, if not all, argue that this is a mistake on the gaffer’s part, and Letizi’s place as first-choice is not on individual merit.
Mcgregor’s agent Willie McKay, apparently speaking on his behalf has conveyed the player’s interest in remaining at Ibrox, however, and has essentially invited the club to keep him.
That said, he must feel horribly hard-done by in losing his place after such superb displays in the first team, and it would be understandable that he might wish to leave our club to gain first-team football in pastures new.
In other news, the long-awaited return of Jeremy Clement awaits. He has fully rejoined the squad for complete training and is catching up quickly in fitness – he is pencilled in for an appearance on Saturday off the bench against Motherwell.
He must not forget though that he faces stiff competition from the 3 players particularly in form – all are in his position of midfield; Barry Ferguson, Brahim Hemdani and Charlie Adam. If Le Guen wishes to accommodate Clement he must drop one of them and that would be harsh at best and downright unfair at worst. But he has already carried out that exact act with a player in form in the shape of McGregor so do not be surprised to see Adam or Hemdani lose their place in the next couple of games.
And further to that is the fact we know Le Guen regards Clement extremely highly given his intense pursuit of him during the summer and instant installation of him into the team – he is a clear ‘favourite’ of the boss and it would be very surprising to see him keep Clement benched.
Second-guessing the manager has proved impossible though, so predicting what action he will take is a lottery.
With regards Saturday’s match itself, well, currently being on a 2-game winning streak is instilling the side with a touch of confidence, sadly lacking thus far. It goes without saying this must be sustained at all costs. Yes, we’re surely dead in the water as far as the championship goes but second place is definitely within our grasp, and with it a CL spot and the trappings which go with the Promised Land.
A victory against Motherwell is critical – one more slip up in the league in the short term could completely vaporise the progress made in the last 2 games.
However, today a couple of (Minor, to a degree) stories broke the monotony and perked our interest.
Firstly speculation surrounding our fine Scottish goalkeeper Allan McGregor surfaced in that notorious red top The Sun, linking him with a move away from Glasgow down to Sheffield to enlist amongst the ranks of Utd. Although next-to-no credibility can ever be attached to this gutter tabloid’s content, there can be little doubt McGregor is a player we should wish to retain and anything mooting him with a transfer has to be watched closely. He is a talented keeper for sure, and while Le Guen has categorically demoted him in status, many supporters, if not all, argue that this is a mistake on the gaffer’s part, and Letizi’s place as first-choice is not on individual merit.
Mcgregor’s agent Willie McKay, apparently speaking on his behalf has conveyed the player’s interest in remaining at Ibrox, however, and has essentially invited the club to keep him.
That said, he must feel horribly hard-done by in losing his place after such superb displays in the first team, and it would be understandable that he might wish to leave our club to gain first-team football in pastures new.
In other news, the long-awaited return of Jeremy Clement awaits. He has fully rejoined the squad for complete training and is catching up quickly in fitness – he is pencilled in for an appearance on Saturday off the bench against Motherwell.
He must not forget though that he faces stiff competition from the 3 players particularly in form – all are in his position of midfield; Barry Ferguson, Brahim Hemdani and Charlie Adam. If Le Guen wishes to accommodate Clement he must drop one of them and that would be harsh at best and downright unfair at worst. But he has already carried out that exact act with a player in form in the shape of McGregor so do not be surprised to see Adam or Hemdani lose their place in the next couple of games.
And further to that is the fact we know Le Guen regards Clement extremely highly given his intense pursuit of him during the summer and instant installation of him into the team – he is a clear ‘favourite’ of the boss and it would be very surprising to see him keep Clement benched.
Second-guessing the manager has proved impossible though, so predicting what action he will take is a lottery.
With regards Saturday’s match itself, well, currently being on a 2-game winning streak is instilling the side with a touch of confidence, sadly lacking thus far. It goes without saying this must be sustained at all costs. Yes, we’re surely dead in the water as far as the championship goes but second place is definitely within our grasp, and with it a CL spot and the trappings which go with the Promised Land.
A victory against Motherwell is critical – one more slip up in the league in the short term could completely vaporise the progress made in the last 2 games.
posted by RangersMedia @ 7:51 PM
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