ian1964 10,626 Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Lee McCulloch admits he's gutted Rangers' financial crisis has robbed him of shot at Four-in-a-Row Lee McCulloch drove into Murray Park on February 13 buoyed by the belief Rangers were still on course for Four-in-a-Row. But when the midfielder left the training ground five hours later he was certain their title was gone â?? and that was the least of his worries. McCulloch feared he was set for the scrapheap and that Rangers might go under after Craig Whyte told the players the club was entering administration. The 33-year-old didnâ??t know what to expect when Whyte and sidekick Ali Russell came into the dressing-room for a meeting with the squad. But he soon felt a feeling of dread deep inside as the scale of the problems at Ibrox finally became clear. As he looked around the dressing-room McCulloch could see disbelief etched across the faces of his team-mates. Some players asked questions in a bid to paint a clearer picture of the clubâ??s murky future but Whyteâ??s answers were far from convincing. They werenâ??t the first to be far from impressed by the shamed Ibrox owner and they wonâ??t be the last. Now McCulloch hopes he is removed once and for all and replaced by someone capable of taking the club forward. He told MailSport: â??Whyte came into the dressing room on the day we went into administration. He was accompanied by Russell and explained what might happen in terms of the tax problems and the financial situation. â??He also told us he had a plan to make sure things would be fine. That was the last time he spoke to us. â??We didnâ??t have many dealings with him. He was rarely in the dressing room and kept his distance from the players. â??I couldnâ??t see any of this coming. I was shocked and deeply disappointed when it all started to unravel. And there are many questions still to be answered. â??When I think back to the euphoria of winning the league at Kilmarnock last season, the situation we are in now is frightening. I would never have believed we would be in administration. Iâ??m still stunned by it. â??The fact we have missed out on the chance to win Four-in-a-Row has been overlooked. â??Before we went into administration Celtic were just four points ahead but we were then deducted 10 points. Had we not suffered that penalty I would have fancied our chances of winning the league. â??We still had to play Celtic twice with the first clash taking place at Ibrox. And Iâ??d fancy us at home. â??However, that opportunity to win the league again has been taken away from us. Mismanagement on so many different levels, for such a long time, has cost us. It makes me angry. â??A lot of people think Celtic would have won the league anyway but weâ??ll never know. I would have fancied us going into the final 10 games. â??It bugs me that we have been deprived of this through no fault of our own. Purely from a footballing point of view, thatâ??s the biggest crime of all. â??Now I hope things can settle down and someone buys the club. We need stability and direction. â??I donâ??t want Rangers to lose its identity and history. Thatâ??s the biggest thing. That has to be preserved at all costs. â??Weâ??ve won more league titles than any other club in the world and we donâ??t want that to disappear.â? When the club went into administration several players were in danger of being axed to help meet required cuts of around £1million per month. McCulloch was one of the stars set to be sacrificed but the squad negotiated day and night for more than two weeks to come up with a plan to save jobs. It was difficult to please all parties but a settlement was reached whereby players would take cuts of between 25 per cent and 75 per cent, depending on their salary. McCulloch, though, actually offered to play for NOTHING. The midfielder, who was part of the player committee, said: â??Weâ??ve been successful on the pitch in the last three years and we didnâ??t want to be split in two through no fault of our own. â??This has shown there is great unity between the players and that we have a compassionate side, something footballers are often accused of not having. â??I never wanted to leave. The happiest time of my career has been playing for Rangers. I wasnâ??t for giving up on that. We were involved in loads of meetings with the playersâ?? union and a couple with the administrators. â??We wanted definitive answers but it wasimpossible to get them as quickly as we wanted for a variety of reasons. So many different scenarios were being put to us and it was said we could be out of a job after our game against Inverness last month. â??But we survived and kept things going. At times I felt more like a lawyer and an accountant than I did a footballer. I probably also felt like a politician. â??I have taken a 75 percent wage cut and that is a big ask. Yes, we have comfortable lifestyles as footballers and you sort of live life to your means. â??But I spoke to the PFA and the lawyers and got something in writing to state I was willing to play for nothing until the end of the season. It was given to the administrators and I would have taken a 100 per cent cut. â??I wanted to help save jobs. I also wanted to keep playing for Rangers. Itâ??s a huge club. They has been kind to me over the years so the offer I made was a genuine one and in a weird way it was the chance to give something back.â? McCullochâ??s dedication to the Ibrox cause was highlighted again yesterday when he slotted in as a makeshift defender in the 2-1 defeat at Dundee United. And heâ??ll savour every match after fearing his Gers career was over. He said: â??After going into administration we lost 1-0 to Kilmarnock. I came off the park thinking it was last the time Iâ??d get the privilege of wearing the Rangers jersey. I was emotional as I left the pitch. â??I wanted to stand and applaud the fans, to thank them for their support over the years, but couldnâ??t bring myself to do it. â??I was disappointed at losing and felt I had no right to stand around. â??We managed to hold on for a week and I then scored when we won 4-1 at Inverness. On the bus journey back we had a couple of beers and a few of us were speaking as if that would be our last game together. Thankfully, we were wrong.â? Yesterdayâ??s defeat at Tannadice means Celtic could clinch the title at Ibrox next weekend but McCulloch is confident of avoiding that nightmare scenario. He said: â??We have two derbies still to play and thereâ??s no reason why we canâ??t win both. We can finish on a high.â? http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sunday-mail/2012/03/18/lee-mcculloch-admits-he-s-gutted-rangers-financial-crisis-has-robbed-him-of-shot-at-four-in-a-row-86908-23792227/ 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gribz 745 Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 All spot on from Lee and I have admired him more in the past few weeks. Still dont think he has much to offer these days on the park when being deployed in centre defence and centre midfield but he could still do a job in an attacking sense. I was delighted when we signed him, i thought he was a cracking attacking inside left and he started his Gers career well. But since being moved into midfield and defence he really struggled. Off the park he has probably been a rock in the dressing room. Id keep him on for another year for experience but he cant ever play centre defence again. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chilledbear 16 Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Not sure there was anybody else for that position yesterday. These type of players are invalueable at the present time. He comes over as a true supporter. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CumbernauldGers 0 Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Another day another pile of pish from McCulloch, i for one cant wait for the day this guy is no longer stealing money from Rangers pretending to be a footballer. Buying players like him have got us into this trouble, but hay it's all ok he is a Rangers man. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CumbernauldGers 0 Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Not sure there was anybody else for that position yesterday. These type of players are invalueable at the present time. He comes over as a true supporter. At least that is him doing something, because he is not a footballer. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
der Berliner 3,568 Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Another day another pile of pish from McCulloch, i for one cant wait for the day this guy is no longer stealing money from Rangers pretending to be a footballer. Buying players like him have got us into this trouble, but hay it's all ok he is a Rangers man. Out of interest, can you name a few Scottish/British "players like him" being bought in years gone by? People asked to play all over the park in unfamiliar roles ... time and again. Not saying I'm not exactly a fan of him (playing in mdifield), but since you made this claim I'd like to know. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CumbernauldGers 0 Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Out of interest, can you name a few Scottish/British "players like him" being bought in years gone by? People asked to play all over the park in unfamiliar roles ... time and again. Not saying I'm not exactly a fan of him (playing in mdifield), but since you made this claim I'd like to know. Sorry i was talking about the transfer fee and wages when talking about players like him. Tbh it's just as well that we have not had many more in terms of playing ability, he has been a total disaster and it's a joke he gets away with it due to being a big Gers fan. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GovanAllan 0 Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 His hearts in the right place just a pity he can't put his feet or head in the right place as well. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny 0 Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 (edited) At least that is him doing something, because he is not a footballer. A bit of a ridiculous comment to come out with. Ok, he's not Messi, but to literally state that 18-times capped, former Wigan player Lee McCulloch (6 years EPL experience with 224 appearances and 44 goals) who cost us £2.75M and has played 107 times for us is 'not a footballer' is plain obtuse. You could suggest you don't rate his ability on some level, that would be a bit more fair - like me doing likewise with Bedoya - who has been agony for us - but McCulloch has not been. He has more than done a job and his integrity in recent times has been impeccable - offering to play for free was an outstanding gesture. Edited March 18, 2012 by Danny 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny 0 Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 His hearts in the right place just a pity he can't put his feet or head in the right place as well. Again, this is absurd. I'm not saying he's Maradona but he is a lot better than the 2 left feet guy you're portraying him as. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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