“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.
“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.
Still, the present management has a track record of success.Former Rangers captain compares Philippe Clement to Walter Smith
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.”
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?
The man who won the Premiership twice on the final day during his trophy-laden spell in Govan is, however, pretty certain about one thing. The cinch Premiership this term is set to go the full distance. “It is so tight,” he said. “Really, really tight. It could go right to the wire.”
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 sees similarities in the Belgian, who won the Pro League in his native country twice in three years—once with Genk and again with Club Brugge—and is certain that his childhood heroes are in capable hands as they embark on the journey.
“In my perspective, the manager has made a significant contribution to the club’s current state, as opposed to where it may have been at the beginning of the season under the former management. 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.
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. I consider it rather bold for a manager to take that action and to offer the assurance that his players will play well.
“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.
“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?
Only six of the Rangers players who won the Premiership back in 2021 are still in the Ibrox squad – Leon Balogun, Borna Barisic, Connor Goldson, Kemar Roofe, James Tavernier and Scott Wright.
McCulloch, though, does not believe that the current leaders, who have played one game more than their nearest challengers, have any significant advantage over them because they have been crowned champions in the past two years. “I don’t think Celtic have got much experience when it comes to going to the wire to win a league,” he said. “And Rangers don’t either. That’s just the way the Scottish game has been lately. “Whether that experience comes from the manager, the players in the dressing room, or the leaders in there, it’s just about keeping your composure and, most importantly, going one game at a time.”
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