LEE McCulloch was on hand at Murrayfield yesterday to promote Rangers’ spectacular friendly against Manchester United in July and was salivating at the prospect of the Scottish and English giants meeting once again.
The former Ibrox captain made two appearances for the Old Trafford club in the group stages of the Champions League in the 2010/11 season and thoroughly enjoyed taking part in both matches.
Their summer clash in Edinburgh, although only a pre-season game, has no doubt will be fiercely contested and attract a crowd of 67,500. “It will be sold,” he said. “What kind of atmosphere will it be?”
But McCulloch wasn’t so sure when asked if he thought Rangers could edge out Celtic in the most evenly matched Scottish title race in the last 13 years. “I don’t know,” he said. “Are you doing?
But the man who won the Premiership twice on the final day during his trophy-laden spell at Govan is pretty sure of one thing. This term’s cinch Premiership is set to go the full distance. “It’s very tight,” he said. “It’s really tight. It can go right to the wire.
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He also believes current Rangers manager Philippe Clement can negotiate the final nine league games in the coming weeks despite the pressure to deliver silverware.
Having Walter Smith in the dugout proved crucial as McCulloch and his teammates locked horns with their city rivals in 2009 and 2011; The legendary Scot was in his second term in office and was a veteran of numerous successful campaigns.
The former Scotland international can see similar qualities in the Belgian, who has won the Pro League twice in three years in his homeland, once with Genk and then with Club Brugge, and is confident his childhood heroes are in safe hands as they enter the promised fold. It will be a worrying encounter.
“On the last day we won away against Dundee United and then away against Kilmarnock,” he said. “The main thing is just to win the matches. Our manager was Walter. With him it was important to win first and foremost.
“Concentrate on yourself, treat each match individually. Frankly, the more matches are played, the higher the pressure. But just focus on yourself and forget about what everyone else in the league is doing.”
McCulloch added: “Rangers need everyone to be fit. I think they’ve been a bit unlucky with injuries in recent weeks. They’re playing players who aren’t out of position but are probably not in their most natural position.”
“But the current coach also has the experience of winning the league and knows what this means. So I do not see a big problem. The important thing is whether they can play and win every match at the same time.
“In my view, the manager, perhaps under the previous manager at the beginning of the season, played a huge role in getting the club to where it is now, so he needs to get a huge amount of credit and a huge amount of credit should be given to him.
“I would love to play for him. I’ve only talked to him a few times, but he reminds me a bit of Walter. I’m not comparing them, 100 percent. But he’s got a steeliness about him, a poise, a seriousness. Walter was like that too.
“If the team is winning 1-0 or losing 1-0, you can’t really tell when you look at it from the touchline. He’s a bit emotionless, which I like. And I think the players really respected him.
“He will be a big factor, just like Brendan Rodgers was for Celtic and Stevie Naismith was for Hearts. Managers are great, they are leaders. But it also depends on the locker room. It’s about maintaining your confidence and staying focused. “I’m excited about this.”
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Like many fans, McCulloch saw little chance of Rangers winning the Premiership after losing 3-1 at home to Aberdeen at the end of September to fall seven points behind Celtic in the final game of Michael Beale’s reign. .
He was surprised by the transformation they had experienced since Clement’s appointment.
“The biggest positive for Rangers is that the manager has come in and changed the squad, given them confidence and unity and shown that he can change the style of play from game to game,” he said.
“Depending on the situation on the pitch, he can go more directly. I think it’s a very brave thing to have a manager who can do that and give confidence to his players who are doing an extremely good job.”
McCulloch continued: “If you win a championship every year, of course that’s important. This is your bread and butter. This is what you want. Now that Rangers are out of Europe, they can concentrate on Europe and their home form.
“So they need to take the positive from the negative. If Rangers win, it will be a huge achievement considering where they are at the start of the season. If Celtic won, they were expected to win too, right?”
Only six of the Rangers players who won the Premiership in 2021 are still in the Ibrox squad: Leon Balogun, Borna Barisic, Connor Goldson, Kemar Roofe, James Tavernier and Scott Wright.
But McCulloch does not believe the current leaders, who have played one game more than their nearest rivals, have a significant advantage over them as they have been champions in the last two years.
“I don’t think Celtic have a lot of experience when it comes to going out there to win the league,” he said. “And the Rangers don’t do that. That’s been the way Scotland’s been playing lately.
“Whether that experience comes from the coach, the players in the locker room or the leaders there, the important thing is to keep your composure and most importantly, take it one game at a time.”