Wallace: Div 3 is loveLee

[ian1964 10,625]

LEE WALLACE insists Scotland will get a BETTER player when he turns up for national team duty next week â?? despite him playing in the Third Division.

Rangers star Wallace, set to skipper his side at Tannadice today, believes his form now is an improvement from when he won his previous six caps.

Wallace made all his appearances under Craig Levein, the most recent in the 5-1 defeat to the USA.

But flop boss Levein later admitted Rangersâ?? demotion would jeopardise Wallaceâ??s call-up hopes.

But Wallace claimed: â??I believe Iâ??m a better player now than I was last summer when I played for Scotland against the USA.

â??I feel I have adjusted and improved my game and hopefully the new Scotland boss has seen that improvement.

â??In my view, Iâ??ve become a better player for playing in Division Three.

â??Over the last few months Iâ??ve definitely developed and matured.

â??Dropping down to the Third Division is not something I really think about â?? I just regard it as a bonus to be accepted back into the international squad.

â??The new manager has great experience and a wealth of knowledge about the game and Iâ??m pleased he has given me the call.

â??Iâ??m not sure if I will feature next week, but Iâ??m looking forward to meeting up with the squad on Sunday.â?

Before that, Gers face their controversial Scottish Cup tie against Dundee United at Tannadice.

The build-up has led to a potential powderkeg, with Rangers pleading with fans not to attend a tie against a club who were vehemently opposed to their SPL survival last summer.

A small band of fans are ignoring Charles Greenâ??s request not to travel, but Wallace insists there will no problem focusing on just the game.

Wallace added: â??The atmosphere for the Motherwell tie in the League Cup was electric, and from start to finish we took the game to them.

â??We got in a couple of great tackles soon after kick-off, we got the early goal which was a great help and we kept on building from there.â?

Gers crashed out in the next round at home to Inverness and Wallace said: â??We had a definite off night against them.

â??Caley played well after the interval â?? and their season has really taken off on the back of that win at Ibrox.

â??But it would definitely be a positive if we can start like we did against Motherwell at Tannadice.

â??I think all the pressure in this game is on United.

â??But they have a new management team in place and that will give their players a lift, as it always does.

â??Players who have not been playing or been off form will want to make the most of staking a claim for a place with the new gaffer.

â??But we have belief in ourselves and we will be going there to try and win the tie.

â??As for the supporters travelling, Rangers have taken a stance on the issue, and the players and coaching staff fully support it. But our focus from the first minute to the last will have to be on the game â?? we canâ??t worry about anything other than that.

â??It will be a difficult tie because they are an SPL side and they are at home, but we will go there and try and win.

â??That is how the gaffer approaches things and how we are as a team.

â??We have five or six players who have experienced playing United before and that will be important.

â??Itâ??s also a plus that the younger guys have had the added experience of playing against a couple of SPL sides in Inverness and Motherwell.

â??Concentration for the full 90 minutes will be vital as we have had a couple of blips where we have dropped points late on at Ibrox.

â??We canâ??t afford to repeat those, it is vital we show we have learned from the experiences.

â??Discipline will be fundamental. We cannot afford to give up the sort of chances we have done recently against United or they will punish us.

â??But we have to concentrate on what we do ourselves and not on them.â?

Wallace has stepped into the captainâ??s role in Lee McCullochâ??s absence and takes his duties seriously.

He added: â??Iâ??m a senior player here and with Jig being out over the last month Iâ??ve had the chance to wear the captainâ??s armband.

â??Thatâ??s something Iâ??ve done with great pride.

â??It is a massive honour to captain a club of this stature and the extra responsibility is something I have enjoyed.

â??We have a few young boys in the squad and I like to think Iâ??ve shown good leadership to them.

â??If big Jig is still out I will be delighted to captain the side again.â?

 

 

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