When Lee McCulloch visited Murrayfield yesterday to promote Rangers’ glamorous friendly against Manchester United in July, he was drooling over the idea of seeing the two titans of Scotland and England go up against each other once more.
During the 2010–11 Champions League group stages, the former Ibrox captain faced the Old Trafford club twice and relished the opportunity to be involved in both games.
Even though it is only a preseason game, he is confident that their summer encounter in Edinburgh will be a hotly contested match that draws a crowd of 67,500. He declared, “It will be sold out.” “How the atmosphere will be.”
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When asked whether he believed Rangers could defeat Celtic in the most evenly matched Scottish title battle in 13 years, McCulloch was less than certain. “I’m not sure,” he uttered. “Do you?
But one thing is for sure for the guy who, during his trophy-filled time in Govan, won the Premiership twice on the last day. This season, the clincher Premiership is expected to last the entire duration. It’s really close, he remarked. “Very, very close. It might proceed directly to the wire.
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Despite the pressure to win the trophy, he is also confident that current Rangers manager Philippe Clement can navigate the remaining nine league games in the coming weeks.
When McCulloch and his teammates were in close competition with their city rivals in 2009 and 2011, having Walter Smith in the dugout proved to be invaluable. The renowned Scot was in his second spell as manager and had led many winning teams to victory.
The former Scotland internationalist believes his childhood idols are in good hands going into what looks to be a heated match because he recognizes similarities in the Belgian, who won the Pro League in his native country twice—once with Genk and again with Club Brugge—in the span of three years.
“We defeated Kilmarnock away and Dundee United away on the final day,” he declared. The secret is to simply win games. Walter was our manager. With him, it was all about winning first and foremost.
“Keep your focus on yourself and approach each game one at a time. Naturally, the pressure increases as the games progress. However, please focus on yourself and ignore what other players in the league are doing.
McCulloch continued, saying, “Rangers need everyone fit. They’ve had some unfortunate injuries over the past several weeks, in my opinion. Although the players they are playing are certainly not in their most natural position, they are not quite out of position.
But the present manager knows what it takes and has experience winning leagues as well. Thus, I don’t notice any significant issues. The only question is if they can win each game one at a time.
“I think the manager has done a fantastic job of leading the team to where it is now, as opposed to where it may have been at the beginning of the season under the former manager. He must therefore accept and get a great deal of credit.
“I wish I could have played for him.” Though we’ve only spoken a few times, he somehow reminds me of Walter. I’m not making any comparisons between them. But he has a presence, a seriousness, a steeliness to him. That was the nature of Walter.
“It was difficult to tell by gazing at him on the touchline whether the side was winning 1-0 or losing 1-0. I kind of enjoy how emotionless he is. The players must truly respect him, in my opinion.
Like Brendan Rodgers for the Celtics and Stevie Naismith for the Hearts, he will play a significant role. The boss is large; they are in charge. However, the dressing room is also involved. It’s about staying focused and maintaining your self-assurance. It excites me.
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McCulloch, like many other supporters, saw little chance of Rangers winning the Premiership after the team’s 3-1 home loss to Aberdeen at the end of September, which proved to be the last game of Michael Beale’s reign, dropped them seven points behind Celtic.
The change they’ve experienced since Clement’s appointment has surprised him.
“The manager’s arrival, who changed the team, gave them unity and confidence, and demonstrated that he could alter his style of play from game to game, is the biggest plus for Rangers,” the player stated.
He may be more straightforward, depending on the pitch. It takes a brave manager, in my opinion, to do that and to have faith in his players after they have performed so admirably.
“Any year you win a title, of course it’s big,” McCulloch went on. You own the bread and butter. You’re looking for that one. Rangers can now focus on Europe and their home form since they are no longer in Europe.
They must thus interpret that as a positive from a negative. Rangers will have accomplished a great deal if they win, especially in light of their starting position in the league. If Celtic prevail, then, by definition, they were the favorites, right?
Just six Rangers players—Leon Balogun, Borna Barisic, Connor Goldson, Kemar Roofe, James Tavernier, and Scott Wright—remain in the Ibrox roster from the 2021 Premiership winning team.
But because the current leaders have won two titles in a row, McCulloch does not think they have a major advantage over them despite having played one more game than their closest rivals.
He declared, “I don’t think Celtic have much experience going down to the wire to win a league.” And neither do Rangers. That’s simply how the Scottish game has been playing these days.
“Be it the manager, the players in the locker room, or the leaders there, all that matters is maintaining your composure and, above all, taking each game one at a time.”
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