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Monday, 24 March, 2003

Fergie signs extended deal Barry Ferguson has signed a new deal which will keep him at the club until 2008. The Scotland midfielder had recently made it clear he intended to commit his foreseeable future to the club he joined as a 10-year-old. Ferguson has been in impressive form this season and is in the running for Scotland's Player of the Year awards. He has scored 18 goals this term. Chairman John McClelland the new deal and said: "I'm absolutely delighted we have agreed a new contract with Barry which means he will be at the club until 2008. We have made it plain we want to invest in the future and this deal is the perfect example of that. There is little doubt Barry is one of the most talented players the club has had. He has grown from boy to man in the last few years and seems very comfortable working under Alex McLeish's stewardship. I think this indicates Barry is not for sale and I believe it is a very timely boost for the club at what is a very exciting stage of the season. It's marvellous news for all our supporters and I think it shows that we are not just interested in cutting costs or earning more income. Investing in players like Barry is a very important step."

Semi Final Draw The draw for the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup has paired Rangers or Dunfermline with Motherwell and Dundee or Falkirk with Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Sky Sports will show live coverage of the Scottish Cup quarter-final replay between Rangers and Dunfermline at Ibrox on Wednesday April 9, kick-off 7.45pm. Should Rangers advance, the semi-final with Motherwell will also be shown on Sky Sports on Saturday 19 April, kick-off 12.30pm at Hampden.

Tuesday, 18 March, 2003

Amo banned for 4 games Alex McLeish has confirmed there will be no appeal over the Scottish Football Association's decision to ban Lorenzo Amoruso for spitting. The SFA's disciplinary panel ruled on Tuesday the Italian had been guilty of deliberately spitting on Ayr striker James Grady during a Tennent's Scottish Cup tie on February 22. Amoruso had denied the allegations and made a personal appearance at the Hampden Park hearing. But he was handed an automatic two-game ban plus 12 penalty points, which means he will miss Wednesday's game with Motherwell, Sunday's Scottish Cup quarter-final at Dunfermline and subsequent SPL games against Partick and Dundee United. McLeish said: "There will be no appeal. It is a major blow to lose Lorenzo at this stage of the season." An appeal would have frozen the ban and allowed the Italian to play on. That was the tactic employed by Celtic last season when Bobo Balde was found guilty of elbowing Hibernian defender Paul Fenwick. McLeish had already declared he believed Amoruso was innocent but Rangers appear to have decided it would be better for the player to miss games now rather than run the risk of the appeal failing during the championship run-in, especially with a fourth and potentially title-deciding Old Firm league clash looming.

Sunday, 16 March, 2003

Gers retain Cup Rangers retained the CIS Insurance Cup in controversial fashion with a 2-1 victory in the final at Hampden Park - but only after Celtic were wrongly denied a second-half equaliser. John Hartson had been the man wronged but the Welshman had only himself to blame when he put a last-minute penalty wide. Martin O'Neill' side's gloom was further compounded by a suspected broken wrist suffered by Chris Sutton and they finished with 10 men after Neil Lennon was sent off. Claudio Caniggia and Peter Lovenkrands had given Rangers a 2-0 half-time lead but it was all Celtic after Henrik Larsson pulled one back shortly after the restart. But that's when the controversy started as Hartson had a legitimate, 62nd-minute goal chalked off for offside by linesman David Doig. Mikel Arteta had gifted the ball to Larsson with a terrible aberration and after the Swede had skipped past Lorenzo Amoruso he played his strike partner in behind the last defender. Hartson converted with ease and television replays confirmed he had timed his run perfectly. With three minutes left Lennon was sent off for strong-arming substitute Shota Arveladze, having just been shown a first yellow for an off-the-ball incident that saw Fernando Ricksen sent tumbling to the turf. And in the final minute Celtic were awarded a penalty when Amoruso brought down Bobo Balde but Hartson fired the spot-kick narrowly wide to condemn his side to defeat. There were understandably contrasting reactions from the two managers afterwards, Rangers boss Alex McLeish insisting his side's backs-to-the-wall victory had answered the critics who had been questioning their throphy-winning credentials just a week before when they lost the Old Firm derby at Parkhead. McLeish said: "It was a hard-fought one. The first half we were fantastic and I felt we thoroughly deserved the lead that we had. The second half we maybe tried to protect it a little too much - but I thought there were no failures today. There were three or four players last week who didn't play as well as they can. Today they stood up and there was a reaction despite being written off by all and sundry. I think we got that wake-up call."

Thursday, 06 March, 2003

Jerome wants Parkhead treble Jerome Bonnissel insists he is ready to make his Old Firm debut. The left-back, who joined from Bordeaux during the winter break, will make only his second start should Arthur Numan fail to recover in time for Saturday's Celtic Park showdown. Bonnissel has already played at Parkhead twice - and came out victorious in a UEFA Cup clash two seasons ago. He was part of the Bordeaux side which won 2-1 in extra-time to dump the Hoops out 3-2 on aggregate. The other game was a friendly. He told Rangers World: "It is great for me to remember these games and I'm sure the Rangers fans are happy too. It was a great experience because the stadium was terrific and I hope to play in that kind of environment again - and, of course, achieve the same objective. I would love to play in the game there on Saturday. I know that this is likely to be a huge match." Bonnissel is also playing for a contract as his current deal expires in the summer. Numan has already decided to quit the club then so it is doubly important for the Frenchman to do well as his deputy, as he did at Livingston on Sunday. He said: "I know Arthur. I played against him when I was with Deportivo La Coruna in Spain and I have got to know him during my time at Rangers. He is a great personality but I also know he is a great player, having played many games at international level. But I am here to work and play as many games as I can. I am ready to do that but it all depends on the manager."

Monday, 03 March, 2003

Ronald and Arthur doubtful for Saturday Alex McLeish has revealed Dutch duo Ronald de Boer and Arthur Numan are doubts for next week's Old Firm clash at Celtic Park. Neither played any part in Sunday's 2-1 win at Livingston, which made sure Rangers would travel to the home of the champions with a six-point advantage on Saturday lunchtime. De Boer has been sidelined by a calf complaint while Numan is out with a knee injury. McLeish said: "Ronald is a genuine concern, as is Arthur. He felt a wee niggle after the game last week and he tends to get these niggles now and again. Normally, he comes back quickly but I don't know how serious it is. You never know, it could clear up over the weekend." Lorenzo Amoruso, who had opened the scoring in the eighth minute, also broke his nose but McLeish was adamant the Italian would be available for the derby. He said: "Listen, it's not going to keep him out. I think you can bet your bottom dollar on that." Striker Shota Arveladze intends to make the most of the Old Firm double header that could shape the destiny of the entire season. Arveladze said: "There are nine games to go I think and it is important to be at the top. The next two weeks will be really good weeks for the whole of Scotland and for us, and we are looking forward to doing well. I don't think Celtic's success in Europe has made any difference. We know how important every Old Firm game is. One is a final and one is a crucial game in the league where the points are close. We will give everything."

Sunday, 02 March, 2003

Gers to invest in youth Chairman John McClelland has revealed he is ploughing £10million into youth development over the next five years. McClelland, who has appointed George Adams to head up youth development, believes the emphasis on young talent will put Rangers in line with the biggest teams in the world. McClelland said: "Clubs everywhere are putting a special emphasis on youth development. You can see it happening at even the biggest clubs like Real Madrid. We'll spend another £10million over the next five years to make sure the facilities at Murray Park are used properly. This is a very sizeable investment. Our vision is to have the best youth development scheme in the world and we are prepared to spend big to breed our own players. We've now split the club into two separate operations - first team and youth. So, irrespective of market forces dictating finances, we are committed to spending this sum on the youth side of things. Even the vagaries of television income or lack of a decent run in Europe won't stop us spending on youth development. That's why we've gone for George Adams to front the whole thing. We are convinced he is the best in the business as his record at Aberdeen, Celtic and Motherwell illustrates." George Adams, the new head of youth development at Ibrox, hopes that the Old Firm game will one day be dominated by home-grown talent. He said: "I don't know about all 22 but I don't see why the bulk of players in the fixture can't be Scottish. The way forward is to get back to working with the best Scottish talent. Murray Park is under-used and we have got to utilise its full capacity."