Alex McLeish sought the advice of Sir Alex Ferguson before having his first crack at Celtic in the 2002 League Cup semi-final.
And yesterday he repeated the pearls of wisdom from his former Aberdeen gaffer in the hope that Michael Beale might be listening. Fergie told McLeish Rangers had been too slow, too static, in recent outings against Martin O’Neill’s all-conquering Hoops and to have any chance at Hampden, they had to speed up their play, get on the front foot and ask questions.
And, of course, Bert Konterman’s screamer from distance went on to become part of folklore as Gers won both cups in McLeish’s first season. Asked what Beale’s missing, Eck said: “He needs a Konterman moment. I spoke to Sir Alex the night before that game and he said, ‘You have to play assertively, get the ball moving fast.’
“I had the bad parrot sitting on one shoulder saying: ‘What if you never beat Celtic?’ and the good one on the other asking: ‘What if you do?’
“I knew Rangers had to play quicker and see that with today’s team. They rotate the ball and it ends back with the guy who started it.”
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