chilledbear 16 Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/football/spl/rangers/2012/06/17/rangers-in-crisis-lee-mcculloch-insists-he-s-staying-at-ibrox-regardless-of-which-division-they-re-in-86908-23897105/ LEE McCULLOCH last night insisted he will stay at Rangers next season regardless of which division they end up playing in. The 34-year-old midfielder has been informed he would be within his rights to walk away from the club on a free transfer at the start of July because the club has reformed as a newco. But the last thing McCulloch wants to do is quit the club he loves â?? even with speculation the Ibrox side will be dumped in the First or Third Division. McCulloch sacrificed more than £200,000 in wages and appearance money to help keep the club alive when Gers went into administration. And heâ??s not for turning his back now. He told MailSport: â??I am going nowhere. I am staying with Rangers. â??Whether weâ??re in the SPL, the Third Division or anywhere in between â?? I will be with Rangers. â??Since I was a kid growing up in Motherwell, all I wanted to do was play for the club and there is no way I will walk away. Itâ??s the last thing I would do. â??Wearing the Rangers jersey is an important part of my life and Iâ??d never forgive myself if I gave that up. â??I have one year left on my contract and will see it out as a Rangers player. â??I feel I have a good few years left in me and would love to extend my stay at the club way beyond next season. â??More important things are on the horizon and, of course, I hope we are in the SPL next season. â??But if it meant dropping down three divisions then Iâ??d get on with it. â??Iâ??d make it a personal mission to win back the title from Celtic if weâ??re still in the SPL â?? or else help get the club back where they belong. â??I donâ??t believe this is a time for quitting Rangers. That would be the easy thing to do. This is a time for sticking with the club. I want to be with Rangers. Thatâ??s all that matters to me. â??I know things arenâ??t great at the moment and there appears to be lots of stuff that needs to be sorted out. â??I canâ??t control that. That kind of thing is out of my hands. But I can have an impact on how well we do on the park and I plan to do that.â? McCulloch fully understands why Rangers fans want to see newco owner Charles Green sell the club to a consortium being fronted by legendary former manager Walter Smith. McCulloch has total respect and admiration for Smith, the man who signed him for Gers in 2007. Fan power and the withdrawal of sponsorship money is likely to force Greenâ??s hand in the coming weeks. Manager Ally McCoist has had his problems with Green and was set to quit last week â?? but a clear-the-air meeting with the owner last Friday morning convinced him to stay. But not all of the players will follow the lead of McCoist and McCulloch. The players will be able to leave for nothing next month. Many will head to England or move abroad â?? a journey the likes of Steve Davis, Stevie Naismith and Kyle Lafferty are likely to take. Green, though, insists his purchase of the old clubâ??s assets includes the player registrations. The players are due to be paid by Green at the end of the month and will need a straight answer by then before they decide their future plans. Players will want guidance from PFA lawyers on that front. But MailSport understands keeper Allan McGregor also wants to stay on at Ibrox. McCulloch said: â??The players have been speaking to each other, trying to clear things up as much as anything else. â??The PFA have been very helpful and are sending out some cast-iron answers to the players. â??But weâ??ve yet to hear anything official from the club. Iâ??m sure there will be contact soon. This will all be sorted out within the next few days.â? McCulloch was deeply saddened to see Rangers having to become a newco but believes the 140-year history will never leave his club. He said: â??Itâ??s been a sad few days in many aspects. Some of whatâ??s happened has been hard to take in, to digest. â??Itâ??s been a bad dream. Nobody wanted it to end this way for Rangers. But we all have to try and keep a positive outlook. â??Itâ??s my view that we are still Glasgow Rangers. The newco doesnâ??t change anything for me. â??Nobody can take away my memories and medals from the past few years. Iâ??m sure if you asked the likes of John Greig and Richard Gough theyâ??d say the same about their time at the club. â??Itâ??s unfortunate what has happened but the players and supporters canâ??t be faulted. I would just urge all Rangers fans not to be too downhearted. â??More tough times could be ahead and we must be strong, stick together and try to move this club forward. â??Weâ??ve taken too many backward steps in the past year or so and, frankly, weâ??ve all had enough. â??But we canâ??t lie down and feel sorry for ourselves. We all need to stand shoulder to shoulder and the sooner we can get back to playing football again, the better it will be.â? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EDGE 0 Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Well said Lee! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Moon 1,289 Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 One piece of positive news this morning. Lets hope its the first of many. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
the gunslinger 3,366 Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 if all the players do this green will be screwed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GovanAllan 0 Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 if all the players do this green will be screwed. Do what? Do you mean stay? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy steel 0 Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 That's quite something, and goodness me it was needed. Thanks to Lee! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
der Berliner 3,744 Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 if all the players do this green will be screwed. You mean, he can not fulfill his and Ally's wish and sign players from that 19-man target list, as the squad will be filled with sufficient numbers of essentially freebies? May be. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
the gunslinger 3,366 Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Do what? Do you mean stay? yeah. it would mean a huge shortfall in the budget. I don't believe it would be the 10 million often talked about but 5 million easy and that assumes income stays the same. of course that assumes green isn't selling quickly. if he is the opposite is of course true. clubs more valuable with players. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
the gunslinger 3,366 Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 You mean, he can not fulfill his and Ally's wish and sign players from that 19-man target list, as the squad will be filled with sufficient numbers of essentially freebies? May be. I mean he can't afford them all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazza_8 233 Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Fuck sake! A good positive story about a Rangers player showing his love for the club and some people on here feel the need to have a go at Green. Change the record! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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