Rangers manager Malky Thomson has confirmed that his No.2, Craig McPherson, will continue coaching the SWPL side.
McPherson is currently serving a six-game Scottish FA ban after admitting headbutting Celtic manager Fran Alonso last month.
The ban means McPherson will not be alongside Thomson when Rangers play Motherwell at Hampden this afternoon.
He is, however, allowed to be in the ground, as SFA suspensions of this nature only apply for 70 minutes before a game and 15 minutes after.
The Scottish Cup semi-final will make history as the first women’s club match to be played at the national stadium. The second semi, between Glasgow City and Celtic, is at Hampden tomorrow.
“Craig will serve his ban and then he will be back.” Thomson explained. “He is an extension of me, and the club were very hard on all of us.
“We have had our own investigation into it, which will remain private, and we have had our own talks from the directors down. We have a code of conduct we must adhere to.
“The club acted right away and put their own process in place.”
A 2-1 win over SWPL leaders City in midweek means League Cup winners Rangers go into today’s game with hopes of a treble intact.
Dutch midfielder Tessel Middag has been given the all-clear to play after coming off with blurred vision following a head knock in the City game. Unlike most of her Scotland team-mates in the Rangers side, Middag has never played at Hampden but is no stranger to big grounds.
“I played at the World Cup in Canada,” the 30-year-old pointed out. “There were 50,000 people going crazy – not for us but for Canada. I also played in the Amsterdam Arena, and when I was with Fiorentina I played in their men’s stadium.
“I am looking forward to adding Hampden to the list.”
Motherwell are the only semi-finalists who are not full time and they visited the stadium on Monday to get a feel for its proportions. Captain Gill Inglis is a primary school teacher and some of her pupils will be at today’s game.
