FEBRUARY 2000

Monday 28th February 2000

Marco Negri, missing from the win over Dundee last night, is fit and will feature this weekend. The player scored a double in the reserves on Monday night and was expected to feature at some point against Dundee last night, but coach Dick Advocaat explained his absence was merely a precaution and nothing should be read into it. As for midfielder Barry Ferguson, he was feeling a pain in the area that forced a prolonged absence last season and he was not risked as Rangers had Claudio Reyna back from playing in the Gold Cup in America. Like Negri, he'll also be fit for this Saturday when St Johnstone are the visitors to Ibrox.

Sunday 27th February 2000

Rod Wallace struck a hat-trick as champions Rangers romped to a 7-1 victory at Dundee on Sunday to stretch their lead at the top of the Scottish Premier League. The English striker took his total for the season to 13 during an incredible first half in which coach Dick Advocaat's side fired six goals past Dundee goalkeeper Robert Douglas. Rangers are now 11 points ahead of Glasgow rivals Celtic, but have played a game more. Of greater significance to Advocaat, was the display of Sebastian Rozental, the Chile international striker, who was making his first appearance in two years after major surgery on a knee injury. Rozental played only a handful of games after his four million pounds transfer from Universidad Catolica in December 1997 and returned home last year for a loan spell with his former club to regain his sharpness following several operations. His general fitness and movement was good against Dundee and he rounded off the performance by drilling in a left foot shot in the 45th minute to make it 6-1 for Rangers. Advocaat later praised Rozental, saying: "He still needs a little more fitness, but he had some great moments, including the goal, and his movement is good. He goes past defenders so well and brings others into scoring positions." Wallace had opened the scoring after just two minutes with a low shot, then Tony Vidmar headed in Andrei Kanchelskis's corner in the 23rd minute. Steven Tweed reduced the deficit in the 27th minute before Wallace struck again in the 30th and 33rd minutes. Germany international Jorg Albertz made it 5-1 on 39 minutes with a 30 yard shot and Vidmar headed the seventh four minutes from time.

Saturday 26th February 2000

Dick Advocaat may be short on defensive cover for tomorrow's game with Dundee, but he insists it will not influence his decision to rest skipper Lorenzo Amoruso. Craig Moore is suspended while Sergio Porrini and Darius Adamczuk are also sidelined and Colin Hendry has been offloaded to Coventry City. Advocaat said: "Lorenzo will not play. We will see how he is in another week or so. It could take a bit longer." Rangers boss Dick Advocaat admits he is paying the price for going global in buying players and is fast considering changing his shopping habits in future. Advocaat is disillusioned by the demands of countries worldwide on clubs and admits limiting newcomers to within Europe may be the only solution. He said: "Before we take a player from here, there and everywhere we have to realise the consequences of that." Dick Advocaat has launched a scathing verbal attack on Olympic chiefs over their plans to allow senior players to participate in Sydney 2000. Advocaat believes that such a plan could wreck Rangers' campaign next year if several senior members of his squad are called up by their respective nations for the Olympic Games. Previous tournaments have meant that only three players over the age of 23 can be called up for the Games, but this time around, they hope to beef up the matches by allowing countries to call on as many as seven senior players. Indeed, chiefs plan to allow competitors to call up seven players over the age of 23, and if selected, Rangers could find themselves with Australians Tony Vidmar and Craig Moore, whilst Holland could call upon Giovanni Van Bronckhorst and Arthur Numan. The IOC chief wants to attract as many of the world's top players to Australia and will meet with FIFA President Sepp Blatter to put forward his proposals next week.

Friday 25th February 2000

Colin Hendry's Rangers career is over after Coventry swooped to sign the Scotland skipper for £1million. The 34-year-old stopper had been frozen out at Gers and is desperate for first-team football after recovering from injury. Hendry arrived at Ibrox from Blackburn Rovers in August 1998 in a £4m deal but he's been unable to force himself into Dick Advocaat's plans and now he's made a return to the English Premiership. Sky Blues boss Gordon Strachan said: "It's a great capture for us. We are putting Colin through a strenuous medical but as far as I am concerned he's capable of carrying on for another three years. Colin is a real leader. He can become our captain in defence."

Thursday 24th February 2000

Rangers chairman David Murray scotched suggestions his club have completed a deal to bring Fernando Ricksen to Ibrox in the summer. Murray is angered comments have been attributed to the 24-year-old Dutch utility player indicating he has already agreed a £3million transfer from AZ Alkmaar. Rangers did make an offer for the player a month ago, understood to be around £2.5million, but this was rejected and Murray insists there has been no contact with AZ since then. He said on Thursday: "There is no truth at all in the claim we have already signed this player and there is no deal nearing completion. We have not even been in contact with AZ Alkmaar for a month now after making a bid for him at that time. I don't doubt that the player said he would love to join Rangers when asked about us, but to say he is now definitely joining us is very premature. The deal is not dead as such because we remain interested and he is a target for us, but while the interest is still there nothing further has happened at all." Scotland captain Colin Hendry will complete his transfer from Rangers to Coventry on Friday. City have called a 1600pm GMT conference at Highfield Road at which another new signing will also be announced. Coventry manager Gordon Strachan has no fears that despite the former Blackburn defender's age, 34-year-old Hendry has plenty to offer the Sky Blues. "It's a good deal, put it that way," he told BBC Radio 5 Live. "The man has got experience, I think he can play for another three years. I look at some centre-halves who are playing now, like Richard Gough and Steve Bould, and I think that Colin has plenty of time. He will bring leadership to the club and the back-four area, which is what we are looking for." Hendry is expected to sign a two-and-a-half year deal at Highfield Road, with the transfer fee dependent on appearances.

Wednesday 23rd February 2000

Director Campbell Ogilvie last night denied either Celtic or Rangers will quit the Scottish League despite having talks about a new league. The Ibrox secretary joined Celtic's Allan MacDonald in Amsterdam as the invitation of PSV to have further talks about the setting up of an Atlantic midweek league, but he steadfastly denied the Old Firm were contemplating moving away from Scotland. He said before going into the talks: "We have no desire to leave our own league in Scotland. We are here because we want to know what is going on. We would like to hear about the issues, but have shown no commitment. First and foremost we want to be in the Champions League. That's our major aim and always will be."

Tuesday 22nd February 2000

Colin Hendry played 45 minutes for the under-21's last night and said he was going to join Coventry City on-loan. And the Scotland skipper added as far as he's concerned, if the move was a permanent one, then that would be even better. Hendry played just one half in a game that ended 3-3, with scouts from Southampton and Watford in attendance, and speaking to the media afterwards, Hendry conceded his Ibrox career was over and if it's a loan deal first, then that's OK but he'd rather it was a more permanent one. The stumbling block will be the fee chairman David Murray will demand for the player, who cost in excess of £3 million when he signed from Blackburn Rovers. Rangers Campbell Ogilvie and Celtic's Allan MacDonald will be in Amsterdam today to talk about The Atlantic League. But the organiser of the event, PSV chief Harry van Raaj, claimed there would be no outcome as the meeting was just an initial gathering of interested parties to see how they could progress the competition. Also in attendance will be Ajax and Feyenoord from Holland, and Porto from Portugal flying in. Both UEFA and FIFA have condemned the idea, which is thought to be following the path of a winter midweek league, with television moneys the real reason for the competition. But from an Old Firm prospective, money aside, the chance to have regular meaningful competition is the added bonus, with Celtic in particular very keen to forward the initial proposals into something more concrete. There are a couple of snags, however. The changing face of the UEFA Cup might alter some clubs thinking, and of course, the addition of an extra place for Scottish clubs in the Champions League may be taken into consideration. Neither Rangers nor Celtic would add anything other than admit they want to see what it's all about. Rangers under-18s reached the semi-finals of the SFA Youth Cup after a nerve-shredding penalty shoot-out with Kilmarnock. The youngsters were leading 2-1 with five minutes to go thanks to goals from Iain Russell and Steven Dobbie but some slack defending lead to a Killie equaliser. However, Gers kept their cool in the shoot-out and Peter Leven netted the crucial strike to win 7-6.

Monday 21st February 2000

Rangers Scottish Cup quarter-final with Hearts will be played on Sunday March 12. The game will be live on SKY with a 6.05pm kickoff. Claudio Reyna is set for a premature return to the SPL as the United States crashed out of the Gold Cup in America. Reyna was one of four United States players to miss a spot-kick as his national side lost out 2-1 on penalties to Colombia. Reyna's limited absence though, will be a boost for boss Dick Advocaat who should be able to include the midfielder for Sunday's trip to Dundee.

Sunday 20th February 2000

Rangers have been drawn to play Hearts in the fifth round of the Tenants Scottish Cup on the weekend of March 11/ 12. The full draw is: Motherwell/ Ayr v Partick Thistle Rangers v Hearts Hibernian/ Clydebank v Berwick/ Falkirk Alloa/ Dundee Utd v Inverness CT/ Aberdeen Italian striker Marco Negri made a shock competitive comeback for Rangers after a 22-month absence yesterday. Negri was recalled to the first team squad because of injury to Billy Dodds and played in the final 13 minutes of the Scottish Cup win against Morton. Boss Dick Advocaat said: "He is not 100 per cent fit yet but he is working very hard in training. Everyone is looking for a striker and maybe he's it." The new 10-yard rule for dissent could be employed in Scotland as early as next season. Failure to accept a referee's decision will be punished by advancing the kick 10 yards and it is designed to stamp out players confronting officials and disputing their free-kick decisions. SFA chief David Taylor said: "I am confident it will be adopted for one of our top competitions next season."

Saturday 19th February 2000

Rangers manager Dick Advocaat is looking for his side to rediscover their hunger on Saturday when they face First Division Morton in the Tennents Scottish Cup. The Cup holders have stumbled in recent weeks with successive draws against Hibernian and St Johnstone. Advocaat has been concerned about his side's attitude and they will be without inspirational skipper Lorenzo Amoruso, who suffered an ankle injury in midweek. The Ibrox boss said: "Everyone must be desperate to play for us and I haven't seen that in recent weeks. Maybe I will make a few changes and I can do that as we have a big squad. Our priority is to win the League but of course we want to do well in the Cup and I want to get past Morton.'' Even though Amoruso is injured there is still no place for Scotland defender Colin Hendry. Scott Wilson is the likely replacement while Hendry will have to content himself with a game for the under-21s next week. Advocaat said: "We've had a meeting with Colin and his agent and it's in everyone's interest if he finds another club, maybe even on loan.'' Saturday's game has been overshadowed by controversy surrounding the venue, the home of Morton's Renfrewshire rivals St Mirren. But Advocaat said:"I don't think it matters where the game is played, although I would have preferred Hampden as it is a wider pitch.'' Neil McCann is set for a starting role as Seb Rozental was not registered in time for the tie. McCann said: "I am feeling really sharp at the moment and would love to get the chance. But of course that is up to the manager and he has a wealth of talent at his disposal. You just have to look at the subs bench.''

Friday 18th February 2000

Jonatan Johansson has resumed light training and set his target on a comeback before the end of the season. The Ibrox striker was stretchered off in December's CIS League Cup defeat to Aberdeen in and underwent surgey on his injured ankle. Now he's able to put weight on his foot again and JJ, speaking at the reopening of the Rangers superstore, said: "I'll probably be able to train properly again in six weeks. Even though I feel very good you have to be careful that it doesn't happen again, so that's why I'm taking my time. Hopefully I will be back in six to eight weeks when I return to full-time training. I haven't written the season off. There is a realistic chance I'll be back this season and that's what I'm hoping in my mind when I'm training every day - that I'll be back this season. That's my own target but you never know and I'm not putting pressure on myself. The cartilage was taken out of the ankle and surgeon told me it takes three months before you can start running with the new cartilage and it's two months now and one and half weeks."

Wednesday 16th February 2000

Rangers were boosted on Wednesday by the news that Lorenzo Amoruso's ankle injury sustained at St Johnstone on Tuesday night is not as serious as first feared after receiving the results of a scan. The Italian defender collided with team-mate Craig Moore as the two attempted to make a clearance in the 27th minute of the game at McDiarmid Park. The early indications were unpromising when Amoruso was carried off on a stretcher and at once substituted by youngster Barry Nicholson, but fears he faced a long lay-off now seem allayed. A Rangers spokesman said on Wednesday in a statement: "Lorenzo Amoruso was examined this morning and there is no ankle break. He has bruising around the ankle and also the cartilage in the ankle but there is no ligament damage. We will be monitoring the situation over the next few days." Rangers will hold talks with Dutch midfielder Giovanni Van Bronckhorst this summer with a view to persuading him to extend his stay at Ibrox beyond 2002. Van Bronckhorst is midway through a four-year deal, but with reported interest in him overseas, chairman David Murray is keen to launch discussions sooner rather than later. A £5million recruit from Feyenoord at the start of last season, Van Bronckhorst has emerged as the creative force of the Rangers' midfield and Murray is willing to pay whatever it costs to keep him. "Players who are superfluous to what is required at this club but are still picking up big wages are on the way out of here, but Giovanni is not in that category," said Murray. "He is not for sale. We are building a team, not destroying one, to go down an exciting road and this is one player who is an important part of that. The money being talked about for him is very high, but we value the player very highly. I'm ready to go into talks with him once the season is over with a view to extending his current contract." Morton's bid to have Saturday's Tennents Scottish Cup fourth round tie played at Hampden has been thrown out by the courts. Ian McCall's Greenock side had been ordered by the SFA to play the match at St Mirren's Love Street stadium becuase Cappielow cannot handle such a high-profile game. But Morton claimed that because Rangers play their Under-21 matches at the Paisley venue, this was unfair. Now both sides can get down to the serious business of preparing for the game after the Court of Session ruled that the tie will Definitely go ahead at Love Street on Saturday with a 3pm kick-off. Dick Advocaat blasted his players for failing to collect all three points against third bottom St Johnstone, claiming they were complacent. And it's easy to understand the Dutchman's anger, but difficult to appreciate why he didn't have Seb Rozental on from the start as Gordon Durie has played so poorly recently. Advocaat said: "This was not a good game from our point of view. If you are 1-0 up with four minutes remaining you should go on and win it. St Johnstone deserved a point but with the position we were in it should have been quite easy to take the three points to the dressing room if we'd played as a unit. But too many of my players were casual tonight. They played for themselves and not as a team. You cannot play at your best if you work only as individuals." The SPL have confirmed that Scotland will be allowed to have two clubs compete in the Champions League the season after next. And what a carrot for teams to challenge the dominance of the Old Firm during next season. The financial rewards for clubs making it to the latter stages of that competition are staggering, and now supporters will be insisting their clubs take advantage of the change of rules next season and make an assault on the Glasgow giants once and for all. Although Rangers look like dominating the league for the foreseeable future as Celtic continue to struggle, sides like Hibs, Hearts and Dundee United have no reason not to try and attain a second top spot. And with the way the rest of the league seem to be able to beat one and other at any time, then why shouldn't Motherwell, Kilmarnock, Aberdeen, St Johnstone and Dundee make that extra special effort for the big prize. There's now no excuse for clubs not making an attempt to get in with the big boys. And what a difference it would make to a Premier League that's still struggling to find the right balance between top sides and strugglers.

Tuesday 15th February 2000

Daniel Prodan is set to return today from Romania after failing to get a loan-deal with Bucharest. Their manager claimed Prodan wanted $50,000 dollars to play every week, but as there's little money in their country, that deal was a non-starter. The player will look for a couple of reserve games before trying to secure another deal, which he can do with the full blessing of coach Dick Advocaat, who added he has to pay at a higher level then reserve's if he wants to play for Rangers. Meanwhile striker Marco Negri managed 70 minutes in the 3-1 defeat by Aberdeen in the reserves last night. He failed to impress, however, and looks like he still has a long way to go before regaining his touch that he brought to Rangers when he first signed.

Monday 14th February 2000

Sebastian Rozental could be back playing for Rangers at McDiarmid Park after his three year injury hell. Dick Advocaat has admitted that the Chilean striker is looking fit and sharp in training and will be in the squad for Rangers SPL clash against St Johnstone. 'He looks good and sharp and his attitude is excellent,' commented Advocaat. 'He was desperate to come back to show himself that he can still play on another level. He has an excellent touch and some special qualities with the ball - particularly one on one. What is great for him is that he is a goal scorer.' However, the Rangers Manager did admit that Seb will have to adapt to play with Rangers: 'He likes to have a bit of time on the ball and he likes to go to the ball. He will have to adapt to the other players in the team and the way we are playing. However, he settled at Ibrox before and will do so again.' Giovanni van Bronckhorst was also full of praise for the 23 year old Chilean: 'He is looking very good in training and looked good when we were in Florida. Most of the players here haven't seen the real Seb yet. Hopefully, everyone will see his real capabilities soon. He is certainly fit enough to play against St Johnstone.' Billy Dodds will not be in the squad owing to injury and long term crocks Mols, Porrini and Johansson will also be missing. Claudio Reyna showed his fellow countrymen the way as the United States got their Gold Cup campaign off to a winning start. The USA skipper produced a thrilling all-round as he led his country to a 3-0 over Haiti in front of 50,000 fans in the Joe Robbie stadium in Miami. There were a number of Rangers tops and flags inside the stadium, and those fans of the former Wolfsburg-ace were given plenty to cheer about. The New Jersey-born ace created the opening goal for Jovan Kirovski after 18 minutes after a clever short-corner move and the Ibrox star won a 55th minute penalty - which Eric Wynalda converted - to secure the success.

Sunday 13th February 2000

Dick Advocaat has welcomed the SFA's decision to play the Scottish Cup fourth round tie against Morton at Love Street on Saturday. The Greenock outfit are outraged that they are not allowed to stage the home tie at Cappielow. Though playing there would put the safety of the huge Rangers contingent at risk, according to Advocaat. "It's not a good idea to play the tie at Cappielow. Safety wise it would be difficult for 8000 Rangers fans, and I don't think the SFA want to risk anything."

Friday 11th February 2000

Sebastian Rozental is back in blue. But he needed a spell being kicked black and blue to prove to himself that his injury hell was finally over. A horrible cruciate knee ligament injury sustained in his first home match for the club, against St Johnstone, sidelined the young South American for a year. After a series of operations and a return to Chile to recuperate, Seb was ready to try again a year later. Again he broke down and six months later he was off home once more to recover and play for his first club, Catolica Universidad, in a bid to regain full fitness. For eight months Rozental's knee has been strong enough to withstand the less gruelling rigours of Chilean football. But any doubts that the striker may have had about his ability to continue playing at the highest level were removed when he took his talents further afield to play against some of the hardest defenders in South American football. Rozental recalled: "I played 40 games in eight months for my club and I played three games for the national team as well. I played in the Copa America Sud against Boca Juniors from Argentina, Sao Paolo from Brazil and Nacionale of Uruguay. Those teams are not going to let me play just because I was coming back from injury. Also, there is no team in the world who wants to lose, so they made it hard for me. But I came through those games and I have now played in 40 matches and had a good mid-winter break with Rangers. I am now ready to play for Rangers but I have to win my place in the team and that will be difficult because we have a good, strong squad, so I don't know how long it is going to take. Although I have been here before, I am arriving as a new player. I am a new player and I have to fight for my place, although I hope I will play soon." The long-haired Chilean is still only 23 years old with his entire career in front of him. When he last left Ibrox 18 months ago, many people - fans, players and Press - believed his promising career was actually behind him. Rozental didn't. He spoke brave words about returning one day to repay the faith shown in him by Rangers and their supporters. He could have been forgiven on Friday for yelling, "I told you so" from the roof of the Govan Stand. Instead, he spoke quietly, in near perfect English, of the hopes and dreams he has still to achieve. He added: "When I said that I would go home to recover and then I would return, I meant it. I never like to say things I don't mean, that would be stupid. I wanted to go home to recover because it was unfair for me, for the fans and for the club if I was to continue coming back and forward every six months trying to play for the team. After two years it is very hard to come back, but it was better for me to go back to play football at a lower level in Chile, where I could be sure I was playing every game from the first minute. That was very important for me to get back to fitness. Here it is more difficult to play enough games to get back to full fitness because the standard is better, the squad is better and Rangers have to play in the Champions League or the UEFA Cup, the league, the Scottish Cup and the League Cup. Also, we have to win every title, so if you are not 100 per cent fit, it is very difficult to play. It was better to do it the way I did and play my way back to fitness in Chile." Rozental revealed that he had rejected offers to play elsewhere in order to fulfil his ambition of making it at Ibrox. He said: "All this time I have wanted to come back to Rangers. I promised that I would come back and now I am here. If I wanted to be happy with my family and with good weather, I would have gone back to Chile and stayed there lying on the beach every day. I would not have trained and I would not have played football. But I want to play football in Europe and to play for Rangers. I had chances to go to Argentina, to continue in Chile or to go to Europe and play for another club but my mind and my heart was here. I know that everyone knows the injury was not my fault. I received a lot of support from the club and the fans - they treated me fantastically. I don't know why the supporters love me, because I have hardly played. But I got a lot of letters and e-mails to my home in Chile from Rangers supporters and all the time I was back there I was thinking of the day I would come back and the day I would play for them again and score goals for Rangers." The Ibrox side has two Old Firm games looming next season and Sebastian doesn't even attempt to hide his desire to be involved. He added: "I have been waiting three years to play in this match. The day I arrived in Scotland was the date of an Old Firm match - January 2, 1997 - and I was introduced to the supporters that night. We won 3-1 and it was a fantastic experience. Now I feel I am very close to playing in one of them and that is a very exciting thought."

Thursday 10th February 2000

Rangers Chairman David Murray has confirmed that Rangers have pulled out of a deal to sign Dynamo Kiev star Serhiy Rebrov. "We have pulled out because of something which came to our attention at a very late stage," said Murray, who confirmed that a financial agreement had been agreed. "The player had also agreed to come to us and we expected to have him by next Tuesday. But, for our own reasons, we have decided to withdraw our offer. However, this is the standard of player we are interested in signing and we will now take our interest elsewhere."

Wednesday 9th February 2000

A spokesman for the SFA today pointed out the rule that prevents Rangers getting in touch with Hearts Paul Ritchie without permission. Apparently, article 120 has all the information Dick Advocaat should have known about before making his statement to the press about the player and his arrival at Ibrox in the summer. The Park Gardens spokesman put us right, saying: "Article 120 states a club shall not approach a player who is registered with another club without written permission from that club to which he is registered with." Now, the most serious outcome for Rangers is the SPL could block the transfer or move, which ever comes first, if they see evidence of tapping. Morton are set to launch a protest against the Scottish Football Association's insistence that their lucrative Scottish Cup fourth-round tie with Rangers will go ahead at Love Street instead of Hampden Park. The First Division outfit are adamant the game should go ahead in Glasgow's national stadium, with their Cappielow ground deemed too small to stage the game.

Tuesday 8th February 2000

Rangers will be away to Greenock Morton in the 4th Round of the Scottish Cup. The tie will take place on February 19th at a venue still to be decided Rangers have made a move to sign Dynamo Kiev striker Serhiy Rebrov in a bid to build the team for next season. David Murray has confirmed that the 25 year old is on Dick Advocaat's wanted list and that Rangers have already made a bid for the player. "We have not completed the deal yet and I am not going to say at this time what we have offered," commented Murray, "But what I will say is the fact we have bid for this player is a clear sign of our intent to build a better team.While we have Dick Advocaat in charge of our team, collectively, we must all give it a go and do what we can to help him make the changes he deems necessary." Craig Moore has been banned for two games following his yellow card against Hibs and will miss games against Dundee and St Johnstone. Dick Advocaat warned his players and the Rangers supporters that the season is far from over despite being 10 points ahead of Celtic. Advocaat played down Sunday night's draw, but inwardly, he must have been frustrated at the lack of penetration his players showed, especially in the first half. There's no game for Rangers this weekend as Dundee United play Aberdeen on Sunday night at Dens Park. That game has been switched to April 4. Advocaat said of the race for the league title: "I have never said that the league was over and Sunday night tells you why. You don't get the prize in February, you get it in May, and there is a long way to go with many hard matches ahead. People can say what they like about the league and how many points we are ahead of Celtic.Yes, being 10 in front is nice, but there are still 16 games to be played. We are in the middle of a tough away run, but we now don't have a game until a week on Saturday, which gives us the chance to work on some things." Claudio Reyna has left for America to play in the Gold Cup competition, and the coach has also said he and David Murray will hold signing talks with Sunderland's Allan Johnston and his agent Blair Morgan this week.

Monday 7th February 2000

Dick Advocaat claimed Rangers draw with Hibs last night was all right by him as they can't win every game. A surprising comment, perhaps, but an honest assessment of the 90 minutes that saw Hibs put in a far better shift than the Rangers players who looked slightly out of sorts. Once again, Advocaat chose to leave new signing Tugay on the bench for the whole game when it was crying out for a player to take control in the midfield to release Rod Wallace who looks back to his best, but instead, he chose to replace Billy Dodds with Neil McCann who scored the equaliser. Advocaat said: "You can't win every game. I thought a draw was a fair result and rangers are now 10 points ahead in the league. We lost two very simple goals against a team that worked very hard and were well organised." Dick Advocaat has admitted Daniel Prodan will be looking for a new club as he doesn't want him to leave on-loan. The Romanian defender is back playing again in the Under-21's, but has yet to convince Advocaat he has what it takes to play at the highest level again, and if Rangers take the chance of letting him go on-loan abroad and he comes back crocked, they of course, will be saddled with his high wages for a prolonged period. With that in mind, the club will encourage his advisors to seek another club who may be willing to take a chance with the player who cost a whopping £2.2 million when he signed. And that's a loss the club may just have to write-off. Advocaat said: "It's very complex. It could be difficult for Daniel to get a place in the side because there is still a difference between the way he is and the way he wants to be. If he wants to come back as a player at the level he was at before, he has to show it - and I can't see how he can show it here. If he leaves us to play elsewhere it will cause problems when we need a work permit to get him back as we have had with Seb Rozental."

Sunday 6th February 2000

Rangers can open up a 12 point gap at the top of the league, if they be Hibs at Easter Road tonight.Rangers should be unchanged from Wednesday's game at Dundee Utd with Vidmar covering the injured Porrini and Tugay on the bench. Rangers boss Dick Advocaat has revealed that long-time target Paul Ritchie will be moving to Ibrox in the summer. The 24-year-old Hearts central defender is currently on loan at Nationwide League First Division side Bolton. Ritchie is out of contract in the summer and Advocaat said: "We haven't made any approach for him yet but at the end of the season, yes. We will be doing something about Ritchie then."

Saturday 5th February 2000

Dick Advocaat admits he has never seen a perfect match during his time in charge of Rangers. The Ibrox side go into the game against Hibs on Sunday at Easter Road currently leading the Premier League after chalking up the Treble in his first season in charge. Yet the former coach of the Dutch national side remains intensely self-critical despite his success in Scotland. The 4-0 midweek victory against Dundee United in midweek kept Old Firm rivals Celtic at a safe distance. But Advocaat said: "I don't think it is possible to say that was a perfect game and one where there were no mistakes. I always see something we can improve on and something we can hopefully learn from. I have always been that way. I know we are clear at the top and it was a good victory in midweek in Dundee. I was quite pleased with the 90 minutes but we need to improve the final ball to the strikers. We also got caught offside too often, I think it was 12-14 times. We have to try to prevent that." Dutch defender Arthur Numan knows Rangers are firmly in the driving seat at the top of the table going into Sunday's game but insists they will not become complacent. He said, "Of course it makes it easier for you when you are well clear at the top. We know Celtic cannot afford to lose many more points but really it is more important what we do. There has to be good commitment between now and the end of the season from all the players if we are to retain the title. For my part I am enjoying my football at the moment after my injury problems. I feel I am am getting stronger by the week." Rangers coach Dick Advocaat is being linked with a £12m bid for Dynamo Kiev striker Serhii Rebrov. Rebrov is one of Europe's top strike talents and came to notice with his prolific partnership with Andrey Shevchenko, who transferred to AC Milan in a £16m deal over the summer. Kiev are unlikely to stand in the player's way if they receive such a substantial offer, although it is not yet known whether Advocaat would be willing to shatter the Ibrox club's previous record outlay - the £5.5m paid to Fiorentina for Russian winger Andrei Kanchelskis. Dick Advocaat confirmed yesterday that Rangers have already had an offer for Fernando Rickson refused by his club, AZ Alkmaar. However, the Rangers Manager has not said the deal is dead. 'It depends on how much they want for him,' he explained, 'I know the player from when I worked with the Dutch National team. He is a fresh player, with a good head for football.' Rickson, who has been described as 'Arthur Numan on the other side of the pitch', has confirmed that he would like to play abroad, rather than in his native Holland.

Friday 4th February 2000

David Murray has confirmed Rangers are interested in Fernando Ricksen who plays for Dutch club AZ Alkmaar. The player is rated at £2 million and Murray confirmed this morning he has already had initial talks with his club but no deal has yet been concluded - although the player thinks a fee has already been agreed. Murray said of the 23-year-old who plays in the right side of midfield: "He's one of several players the manager has identified for next season. He asked me to make enquiries about the lad and we've requested to be kept informed of his situation. Dick knows him from his days in the Dutch youth team but we're not down to talking about the nuts and bolts yet." Rangers this morning denied tabloid reports they have made a £6 million bid for Barcelona's Ronald De Boer. The player himself said last night a move to Ibrox was one he would consider and any move away from Barcelona would be his decision, but as far as he's concerned, it's all up in the air at the moment. The tabloids have gone in heavy on the story, but chairman David Murray confirmed today that the reports were absolute rubbish, and his club would not be breaking a Scottish transfer record to sign the player.

Thursday 3rd February 2000

Giovanni Van Bronckhorst believes a taste of the European Champions' League has made Rangers hungry for a return - and their domestic rivals are suffering as a result. Dundee United were the latest side to be taken apart by Rangers as they folded to a 4-0 defeat at Tannadice on Wednesday night, a result which lifts the Ibrox outfit nine points clear of Celtic in the Scottish Premier League. Last season, Rangers established a similar advantage at the same stage of the campaign and held on with relative ease to claim the title and a ticket to the Champions' League qualifying stages. He said: "The Champions' League is the place to be and after experiencing it this season we all want to go back there - and the only way to do that is by winning the league in Scotland. There's not a player at this club who didn't get wrapped up in our Champions' League campaign. It was a sensational time to be playing in that competition and what it has done is give all of us a taste for more of the same. That's why we're determined to stay top of the league. It means so much to us to be able to be given the chance to open the Champions' League door again and try to build on what we achieved this season." Dick Advocaat and his players claimed last night the league title race is far from over as Celtic are still a dangerous side. Rangers still have to play them twice this season and despite now being nine points ahead of them, Advocaat said he would take nothing for granted as there is still a further 17 games to go. But he was pleased with his players performance as they crushed Dundee United by four goals without reply at Tannadice. Man-of-the-match Barry Ferguson took some stick from his Dutch boss, not for his play, but for his jersey sticking out of his shorts. And he wasn't kidding either. The players all echoed what Advocaat had to say about the chasing pack, and now travel to Easter Road on Sunday for their third live Sky match in a row, which nets the club some £70,000 per game. Not a bad income considering they get nothing from the share of the gate despite the support at away grounds being made up of Rangers fans.

Wednesday 2nd February 2000

Rangers manager Dick Advocaat refuses to accept the Ibrox club will be out of Celtic's reach if they stretch their lead at the summit at Dundee United on Wednesday night. The prospect of going nine points clear in the title race is an inviting one for Rangers, but Advocaat insists he will take nothing for granted all the while Celtic have the time to recover the ground. A quirk of the fixture list means Celtic have played significantly more away games than Rangers, who in turn enjoyed a generous run of home matches before the Scottish Premier League winter break. Now that trend will be reversed with Advocaat's men facing what he feels will be their most testing month of the campaign as they take to the road in pursuit of cementing their pole position. He said: "There are still 18 games to go, and the most important is we have now four or five away games in the space of a month. It's vital that we get results in these games.The pressure is always there at home and away. There's no extra pressure, but we know it will more difficult.My only hope is that we maybe find more space to play away from home than we have in our recent home games; there is always that way of looking at it." When asked about the probable destiny of the championship, Advocaat emphasised: "Anything can happen. We have only played Celtic twice. It will be a better feeling to be nine points ahead than behind but it will still be difficult. I don't think we can talk about the title - it's much too far away." Rangers will be without Sergio Porrini at Tannadice but are boosted by the return from suspension of Billy Dodds, the Scotland striker they signed from United earlier this term. Advocaat also revealed that Italian striker Marco Negri, who made a comeback of sorts in the recent goalless friendly at Sparta Rotterdam, is now sidelined again with a hamstring problem.

Tuesday 1st February 2000

Seb Rozental's work permit has been ratified by the government and Rangers have been informed. The player is currently on international duty, staying in Costa Rica with the Chile team today before travelling to Guatemala later this week for a friendly against Santiago in Sunday evening. Chile, however, want to hold on to the player for a four-team tournament from February 9 to 15, but Rangers are insisting they want their player back now as they are short up front with Mols crocked and Negri still not fit. The player hasn't played for the Ibrox side since October 17, 1998, and has said himself it is his greatest wish to grace the Ibrox turf once again. It could be just in time for the game against Dundee United at Ibrox on February 12. Rangers could play the fourth round of the Scottish Cup at Hampden should Morton win against Brechin next Tuesday night. Both clubs have already appealed to the SFA to have the game at Ibrox, but SFA guidelines stipulate that while the venue may be changed, it cannot be played at the ground of the team which has been drawn away from home and must be switched to a ground within the same police authority. If Brechin win, then Pittodrie could be a possibility, as could Tannadice at a push, but clearly Morton, who are favourites to go through, would prefer to rake in as much cash as possible and as TV have decided the Celtic tie will be shown next, there's no TV income available for a tie at Cappielow.