Rangers make their move
as Hibs fight on
Day of drama as Hibs knock back
initial offer - STUART
CROWTHER
THE
EXPECTED CONTACT BETWEEN Rangers
chief David Murray and Hibs Chairman Malcolm McPherson came yesterday
morning, and the worse-kept secret in Scottish football finally come out
into the open - Rangers are looking to prise Alex McLeish from Easter
Road.
McPherson
cancelled all engagements and the Hibs board went into a huddle, the
decision a straight-forward one - fight or simply give up. For the
moment at least, Hibs fans this morning will be delighted to see that the
Board have decided not to capitulate, refusing the Ibrox club permission
to talk to McLeish. Worthy as that action might be, it seems
unlikely that Hibs will wish to keep hold of a manager who clearly wishes
to move, and that being the case the smart money today is that Alex
McLeish will be in charge of the home side when Rangers face Hibs at Ibrox
tomorrow.
A
stark statement yesterday evening from Hibs spokesman David Forsyth
brought the news most Hibs fans expected but a few hoped would never
come. He said: "Rangers
F.C. approached Hibernian this afternoon and sought permission to speak to
our manager Alex McLeish. Follow a short discussion that permission
has not been given." Hibs.net
however understands that the discussion centred more around the level of
compensation Hibs should demand from Rangers, rather than the possibility
of holding on to the Manager most at Easter Road regard as the finest to
lead the club in a generation. McLeish may not have brought trophies
to Easter Road, but he has brought a respectability to a club that was on
its knees when he first walked through the door to replace Jim Duffy.
McLeish - ready to climb the Ibrox stairway (sns)
Awarded
a unique 3-year rolling contact just last year, McLeish stated many times
that he had much to do at Easter Road, and winning something for the club
was his main ambition. That ambition now appears to have been
discarded as the club he supported as a youth have come calling for his
services. The Hibernian board are demanding compensation for McLeish
and his assistant Andy Watson, who at McLeish's insistence will be part of
any move to Ibrox, and it is only the level of that compensation that is
keeping McLeish from taking the Ibrox post. Rangers are prepared to
buy out the three years on McLeish's contract, believed to be around
£750,000, with perhaps a further £250,000 for Andy Watson. Hibs
however are demanding over £1.5m in compensation, it remains to be seen
who will blink first but the Hibs board will be under pressure not only
from the Ibrox club but from McLeish himself.
McLeish
could hardly have had a more tense day in his career so far, and yesterday
admitted that his telephone had been 'red hot'. He remained however
detached from any talk of moving on, at least in public, saying only:
"As far as I am concerned, I will be in the away dugout on Wednesday
night. My immediate thoughts are for the lads here, getting a little
break and getting ourselves up the table. We are five points away
from fifth place and I think the position we are in frightens people more
than the points situation." McLeish is due to take his usual
pre-match press briefing at lunchtime today, however it remains to be seen
if that will happen at all, with a decision one way or another demanded by
fans of both clubs before the sides face each other tomorrow.
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