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Latest NewsWeek Beginning 20 December 1997 27 December 1997 Kansas City Wizards are interested in taking Richard Gough back to the States at the end of the season. Gough has revealed that he is likely to return to America at some point. He said, "until we start achieving in Europe we'll never attract the best players to come here. There's no way the Scottish Premiership can. I know if I was 24 years old now I wouldn't want to come to Rangers FC. I'd want to play in a better league. I don't expect to be playing a lot of games once Alan McLaren and Lorenzo Amoruso return. I'm not prepared to be languishing in the reserves so I hope the club will be good to me. I'll go back to America where I left on favourable terms." Wizards manager Tim Latta said, "when Richard left to go to Glasgow, we did discuss the possibility of him returning here one day. He was such a big asset to us that we applied to Major League Soccer to have two players to replace him. I know Richard enjoyed the fact he was able to walk about with his family unrecognised without any problems. He liked the lifestyle in America and everybody here would love to see him back." Walter Smith was annoyed when he was asked if he expected Gough to see out the full two years of his contract. He said, "how can I expect to see him see out his two year contract when I won't be here next season? I've not spoken to him about these comments." Rangers will welcome back Andy Goram, Tony Vidmar and Jonas Thern today but Ally McCoist and Richard Gough will have late fitness tests. Gordon Durie and Rino Gattuso are suspended, although Brain Laudrup will start and Sebastian Rozental seems likely to miss out.
Walter Smith said, "there is no doubt Rino is getting far too many yellow cards. He does have a natural enthusiasm and plays the same way in training as he does in games. Like all young players of his type he is inclined to get bookings and draw attention to himself. Last Saturday the referee was quick to speak to him for a foul which had no malice, but he can't continue in this vein." Seb Rozental is set to make his comeback against Dundee Utd tomorrow. The Chilean international returned to Ibrox earlier this month and Walter Smith anticipated a comeback sometime in January. His progress has been so rapid he now looks likely to play at least part of the match tomorrow. Tomorrow's match against Dundee Utd is being beamed live to Sweden instead of their usual English Premiership match. Rangers are likely to field Swedish internationals Jonas Thern and Joachim Bjorklund while Kjell Oloffson, Lars Zetturlund and Magnus Skoldmark could feature for United. Joachim Bjorklund said, "it should be a good match against United and I'm certainly keen to do well with it being shown live in Sweden. It would be nice to show how well we can play with people back home watching. There is a big Swedish involvement and obviously there is great interest back home. It is an ideal opportunity to show everyone what Scottish football is all about."
The 30 year old has told friends that he does not want to leave Ibrox. A £500,000 deal to take him to Wolves earlier in the season fell through at the last minute. One sticking point was believed to be that fact that he is due a testimonial at Ibrox. However, there has been talk of a benefit game still going ahead even if he moves on. His agent Murdo Mackay said, "Ian is delighted to be back in the first-team and would be very happy to stay at Ibrox. The ball is in Rangers' court on this one and they will decide what happens." As Walter Smith prepares to move into the final six months of his tenure as Rangers manager he has admitted that he is going to find it difficult. He said, "pretty soon I will have to deal with my own feelings about leaving this job and that is going to be difficult. I will also be faced with a wee bit extra pressure because I want to get out of this on a high. I want to win the championship, not simply because of any record that would be created, but because it is important for me that I end as a winner." "There will be a whole range of emotions as I get nearer to the end. I believe I've prepared fully for it but when I start going to grounds in the second half of the season, knowing I won't ever return to them as Rangers' manager, there will be strange feelings and emotions. All I can hope is that the build up to each game continues to absorb me and prevents me thinking too far ahead. A manager is always worrying about the next game and if the challenge for the title remains fierce then I would have to be focused on every single match." Smith is also concerned about youth development in Scotland. He said,"we have no choice other than to bring in European players at the moment but we should be putting in place a system which will provide us with a better quality Scottish player. Ideally foreigners should be brought in as the icing on the cake, the finishing touch to a team but right now we are not even supplying our own ordinary players. That is probably the thing that alarms me most and while England appear to be getting it right we are not. The SFA are trying but more has to be spent and there has to be a link between them and the clubs."
"This was not so much an answer to our critics but an answer to ourselves. In the last few games we've been without Gascoigne and Laudrup and not been scoring and creating, that's been fair comment. We didn't play as well as we can in our last two home games but still got the results. Then you begin to think we are a team who are missing Gascoigne and Laudrup so much. If the Hearts result had gone against us, a little more doubt would have crept into some of the boys who have not been here long enough to know what going for the title is all about. That was the time to roll up the sleeves and play as a team." "We weathered the early storm. Hearts put in a lot of effort early on but we came through it. There were so many tremendous performances all round the pitch. It's hard to single out anyone in particular, everyone played their part and that's what Rangers have been about the last few years. Obviously the individual ability of Gascoigne and Laudrup has won us many, many games. But at the end of the day when you get a team effort like that you can't ask for any more and it was an absolutely magnificent result . Being captain was an added bonus. I never thought I would do that again and it was great to lead the boys out. I thoroughly enjoyed the match and it's nice to go back top now. That's the best place to be." "That was probably our best away performance of the season. You only have to look at the boys out - Goram, Thern and Gascoigne in the middle of the park, Gough at the back and Laudrup up front. That's five players there and God knows how many caps they've got. Then you come to a game like Hearts but everyone to a man played their part. It was a battle, the park was very heavy, but I thought there was some excellent football on both sides. We played well and created a lot of chances. You could say we should be doing that week in week out but you could see the character in the side. That aspect was mentioned in the dressing room before the match . When the big games come up Rangers always seem to rise to the occasion. We needed to do that more than ever today because there have been people doubting us, and that is something which has not happened for a long time." "Marco's penalty to put us 3-1 up was crucial. But then we got Rino Gattuso sent off and even though we were leading 3-1 we could have buckled a bit. Fortunately we went down the other end and scored two goals. Hearts had a lot of pressure in the first half but equally Rangers had three or four clear cut chances to kill them. But now we're in pole position. And as I said before I'd rather get chased than be chasing, it's up to the rest to take it off us." Hearts 'keeper Giles Rousset denied that his lunge on Gordon Durie which gave Rangers a penalty cost his team top spot in the table. He said, "everyone thinks I lost the plot and that is simply not the case. I was only trying to do my best for Hearts. You must react very quickly when you are on the pitch and that is what I did. Unfortunately, my actions cost the team a penalty. But I had a decision to make and I made it. Sometimes you make the right decision, sometimes the wrong one. On this occasion I was wrong, but next time I may be right. I ran out to close Durie down because I thought he was going to shoot with his left foot, but when I slid in with my foot the ball was at his right foot. I did not realise he had moved the ball because it all happened so quickly and I caught his leg instead of the ball. It wasn't a big touch from me, but it was still a penalty. I can't complain about that." Brain Laudrup has returned to Denmark for Christmas and will ponder his future before returning to Ibrox on Friday. Laudrup has repeatedly said that he will announce his decision in March or April but it is reported in Scotland that he has told Danish journalists that he will think over his future in the next three days. It is reported that his agent, Vincenzo Morabito, has had preliminary discussions about him joining Manchester United in July. Laudrup said recently, "I must ask if I want to move for another big challenge or do I say: 'I've had a tremendous time here, why not carry on for a little longer?' At the moment, all I want to do is help Rangers to 10-in-a-row." Rino Gattuso will be available for the Old Firm match on 2 January despite being sent off at Tynecastle. The 19 year old automatically misses this Saturday's league match with Dundee United. Gattuso is then due to begin a three game suspension the following Saturday after picking up 10 bookings and one sending off already this season. Since the Old Firm game will take place on the Friday he will still be eligible to play. Andy Goram faces a race to be fit for 2 January. The Rangers 'keeper was expected to return on Saturday after missing last week's 0-0 draw with Dunfermline with a hamstring injury. But he was forced to sit out the Tynecastle match and is reported to be a major doubt for Saturday's game against Dundee United.
"I've been delighted with Rino's form since he arrived and he's shown tremendous maturity for a lad of his age. It couldn't have been easy for him to leave Italy and come over here but he's fitted in well. We were tipped off about Rino by an agent. He came over right away for training and it was obvious from that moment he had talent. We made moves to sign him and I am glad everything worked out well." Gordon Durie has warned people not to count Hearts out of the League Championship despite back-to-back defeats from the Old Firm in the past week. He said, "people would be wrong to rule out Hearts after this. They have a strong squad and won't trail away. I expect they'll be there to make it a three way race right to the wire. I am really pleased with my hat-trick today but the main thing is that the team won. The second goal took a bit of a deflection off Paul Ritchie but the ball is safely tucked away in my bag and I'm surprised anyone is even asking if the goal was mine. That's a stupid question, Ally McCoist would certainly have claimed it." Hearts boss Jim Jeffries was livid at 'keeper Giles Rousset for giving away the penalty which led to Rangers' third goal. The Frenchman insisted he had not tripped Durie but Jeffries said, "the whole turning point was that incident. The ref got it right, it was a rash challenge. Durie was their best player by far and we just couldn't handle him." Ally McCoist is being tracked by a string of clubs on both sides of the border keen to take him on loan. Everton, Wolves, Birmingham, Falkirk, Raith, St Mirren, Hamilton and Airdrie have all been linked with him recently. Walter Smith said, "there are plenty of teams interested in Ally and it is possible I might let him go out on loan at the middle of next month. However, a lot depends on whether or not Seb proves he's back to full fitness but I expect him to do that and we'll be arranging a game especially for him shortly. I'm not sure how long I'll let Ally go for but I don't think it will be until the end of the season. A shorter loan period would suit us much better." Walter Smith will open talks with Rangers' out of contract players early in the New Year. Andy Goram, Stephen Wright, Ian Durrant, Gary Bollan, Derek McInnes, Brian Laudrup and Ally McCoist are all within seven months of the end of their current deals. Most are likely to move on. Brian Laudrup is not interested in football management when he finally hangs up his boots. He said, "I will never go into management. Not even for Rangers. If the chairman asked me to take over from Walter, the first thing I would do would be to ask him if it is the first of April. I am not cut out for management. I have had to live my life in a certain way to meet with the demands of professional football. I don't want to live like that after my playing days are over." "The decision on my future which I will make in the New Year is for my benefit and I am looking forward to being in the position where I can do what I like with my life. I am not interested in money. If that was all it was about, I would be better staying put with Rangers. It is not a family problem either. I have been a pro for 11 years and spent nine of those on the road. I want to be in control of my own life once again. I want to be able to go and live in Australia if that is what I decide to do." "Playing in the World Cup Finals was the biggest ambition of my life at international level and now I am about to do that with Denmark at France 98. But I am also at the stage in my club career where I might have to think about a fresh challenge. It would be presumptuous of me to discuss who Rangers might bring in as Head Coach or discuss what changes he might make. I only know that Walter Smith is the man that head hunted me and we have had a very good relationship. I am annoyed that people say I should be playing more. They say that with my skill level I don't need to be 100 per cent fit for every game. But that's simply not true. I need to feel at my best in order to play at my best."
Rangers Snelders 7 Cleland 7 Stensaas 6 McCall 8 Porrini 7 Bjorklund 6 Durie 8 I Ferguson 7 Negri 6 Gattuso 5 Albertz 8 Laudrup 3 (Sub) Man of the Match: Jorg Albertz Falkirk Follower
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