Walter Smith sat within touching distance of UEFA’s famous slab of silverware and pondered one final twist in a tale borne out of fantasy, if not of the football variety.
It was all there in the body language. As the evening sun dipped behind
the stand at the City of Manchester stadium, the Rangers players drifted around the immaculate green sward that will stage tonight’s showpiece. (With video)
Allan McGregor sat within two feet of the UEFA Cup yesterday: close enough to lean out and touch it, but the Rangers goalkeeper will play no part in his team's attempt to get their hands on the distinctive victory vase this evening.
Northern Open: Scores at individual holes ranged from 1 to 15 in near perfect playing conditions in the first round of the £45,000 Northern Open yesterday as the new Spey Valley course introduced itself to professional tournament golf.
Billy Kirkwood sits outside on the steps
of Murray Park, legs splayed. One foot in
the past, the other in the future. The coach of the Rangers Under-19 side has obvious hopes for the future.
Craig Levein claims the Scottish Football Association should consider introducing professional referees
to ensure match officials are held accountable for costly mistakes.
Lee Miller yesterday ended speculation over his future by signing a new two-year deal with Aberdeen. The striker, 25 on Sunday, was thought to have been lining up a move once his contract ended in the summer.
Doug Gillon on Wednesday: There is increasing grumping at escalating costs of London’s 2012 Olympics, and even mischievous attempts to extrapolate that this inevitably means Glasgow faces increasing costs over the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Kirk Broadfoot Cup diary: The 24 hours before the UEFA Cup final are torture. There is no other word to describe it. Yet I only have to think of the guys who have helped us get here but can’t play to realise that I am one of the lucky ones.
Links between this current Rangers side and the Cup-winners’ Cup heroes they are looking to emulate are near impossible to ignore. For Willie Mathieson in 1972, read Sasa Papac in 2008.
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