Teamwork at its
best
Ibrox display offers great encouragement
by Pat Stanton
AFTER WHAT
MUST BE THE MOST traumatic few days in the lives of many at Easter Road I was delighted to
see the boys all pulling together to earn a very well deserved point at Ibrox and I
sincerely hope this is the beginning of the road back to a challenging position in the
SPL. It was a team performance of the kind we've seen all too little of
recently and all credit to Donald Park and the boys for hanging on in there.
The sudden departure
of Alex McLeish will continue to be discussed for some time yet but as I suggested earlier
in the week I feel the matter should be laid to rest as soon as possible so as to allow
everyone to concentrate on something which can be controlled --- the future.
No amount of debate and conjecture is going to alter the fact that Big Eck is now Manager
of Glasgow Rangers Football Club and so our priority must be to ensure we find the right
man or men to replace him and Andy Watson.
New and old (sns)
There is a strong
feeling amongst many fans for Club Captain Franck Sauzee to be offered the job and I have
no doubt his vast experience will ensure he is actively considered by the Board but they
will not, and rightly so in my view, be rushed into this appointment. Franck would,
I believe, need the support of an experienced Manager to ensure he covered the vast array
of Managerial duties which would fall into his responsibility. I truly believe that
modern day football management is a two man job and that Franck would cope admirably with
most of it if he had a second in command he could rely upon.
I've heard many of
the names being touted by the media and fans alike and I'll be honest and say there are
some whom I feel could provide that stability to Franck if he were appointed. Craig
Brown is not a popular choice amongst the fans but as a Number 2 under Sauzee that might
just work. I like David Hay but getting him might be difficult as would be the case
with Billy Brown who already has experience in that kind of role.
Second guessing I'd
say there's a fair chance Franck will be offered the job until at least the end of the
season and if it goes well he'll be appointed on a longer term contract. I hope it
works for him as he is hugely popular with vast experience as a player and with an
impressive array of contacts.
On the park I
thought we were magnificent on Wednesday night at Ibrox. OK we rode our luck but
remember it was not all good as the Rangers goal came from a deflection which Colgan had
covered otherwise. Every player was a hero on the night but I must give a special
mention to Ian Murray who continues to grow in stature with every game that passes.
With Hibs fighting a rearguard action for most of the second half, Murray was immense and
seemed to be in there for every clearance.
I thought Paco took
his goal well and that he was phenomenal in winning the ball in the air against the big
Rangers defenders. Tam run his legs off as usual and O'Neil and Brebner did well in
midfield, as did Jack who, in spells, looked back to his best. David Zitelli pushed
Murray for the Man of the Match Award and the back four were pretty solid with Fenwick
looking like he'd never been away. Nick Colgan had two stunning saves and although
I'd like to see him command his area a bit more, I felt he was much more like his old self
and the confidence is returning.
Going from strength to strength
On Saturday we
travel to East End Park for a tricky fixture against Dunfermline who have been transformed
under Jimmy Calderwood from a long punt team to one which passes the ball through
midfield, just like Hibs. Should be a good game and unless Franck is appointed today
or tomorrow it will see Donald Park taking his undefeated record to Fife!
Oh, one last thing.
Barring a meeting in the cup later this season, it must be many a year since Hibs
achieved an 'undefeated at Ibrox season' I used to love playing there because the
atmosphere was incredible and it was such a buzz to score and get the thousands of Rangers
fans to fall into silence. On Wednesday night the small band of travelling Hibs fans
did their team proud with their noisy support and it left me, once again, feeling proud to
be a Hibby.
Until next time
Pat |
