Mark Warburton’s Ibrox side Glasgow Rangers gear up for an Old Firm this weekend.
Quoted by The Brechin Advertiser, Alex McLeish has claimed that Rangers midfielder Andy Halliday will be the man who demands a much-improved performance against Celtic this weekend.
Rangers and their Old Firm enemies clash in a Scottish League Cup final at Hampden Park on Sunday as Mark Warburton’s side eye a bit of revenge.
It was a little over a month ago that the Gers were demolished by a 5-1 margin at Parkhead in a result which brought Warburton and co firmly back down to earth.
Halliday has arguably been Rangers’ player of the season so far and, being a lifelong fan of the club, he will be extra determined to avoid another mauling come Sunday.
McLeish worked with Barry Ferguson during his reign in charge of the Glasgow giants, and the Scottish manager says he can see the same passion burning in Halliday.
“For such a young guy he [Ferguson] was a real leader and I can see that same kind of mentality in Andy Halliday,” he said via The Brechin Advertiser. “He will take the ball anywhere. He’s not scared to receive it, not scared to use it or to try things.
“It looks to me like Barry Ferguson has been a role model for Andy in the way that he tries to play.
“He is the type of guy who will demand from his team-mates that what happened at Celtic Park is not allowed to happen again.”
Rangers go into the clash in some decent form after winning their last two Premiership outings; a 2-0 win over Partick and a 1-0 victory away to Inverness on Friday.
Crucially, Warburton’s troops also have a nine-day recovery period, compared to the four days Celtic will have due to Champions League commitments tonight, and it might well be a factor come Sunday.
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