Gers suffer Ferguson blow as Old Firm battle fails to fire

Celtic 0 Rangers 0

The Scotland star will have an operation on his ankle, as well as undergoing a clear-out job on his knee today.

Rangers closed the gap on second-placed Hearts to four points in the Bank of Scotland Premier League, with three games remaining, in the chase for a Champions League place.

Gavin Rae did well in Ferguson’s place, which did not go unnoticed by McLeish, who was experiencing his last Old Firm game before leaving Rangers at the end of the season.

The Ibrox boss, who will be replaced by Paul Le Guen in the summer, said: “Gavin was fantastic and he exceeded my expectation. With losing Fergie we didn’t have a fantastic choice with Bob Malcolm, a converted midfielder.

“Gavin has not played in recent weeks and I thought I could put in Ian Murray but I thought Gavin would help put pressure on Neil Lennon and Roy Keane and he did just that.”

Stilian Petrov was quiet against Rae after requesting a transfer this week, but Strachan claimed he had not considered leaving him out. The Bulgarian midfielder is adamant he will leave despite his manager’s vow to hang on to him.

The Celtic supporters decision to back him prompted praise from the Hoops boss. Strachan said: “People understand what he is saying. “If you listen to what he said, he made it clear he wants a change.

“Everybody goes along with that, which is fine, and the supporters do believe him. They respect his decision and he has to respect our decision. (Leaving him out) never crossed my mind.”

The Rangers supporters also got a mention from McLeish in light of UEFA’s probe into their alleged sectarian songs. He said: “I’m oblivious to the singing that goes on. I didn’t detect anything untoward.”

McLeish admitted his Old Firm experiences had been mixed. He added: “When you win there is no better feeling in the world but it is horrifying when you lose. It hurts like hell but I relish the Old Firm games because the occasion at Ibrox or Celtic Park is something to look forward to.

“I told the players today that they shouldn’t let this pass them by and although we can’t guarantee winning, we caused them problems.”

McLeish’s side were unlucky not to take the three points but he believes his side can overtake Hearts.

“Hearts will take confidence from this but we are capable of catching them. We could have brought the situation back into our own hands with a win today and it was frustrating not to take the three points.

“But that’s football and we had a couple of clear-cut chances.”

Strachan felt his decision to leave Shunsuke Nakamura on the bench cost his side.

“We lacked imagination until Naka came on,” concluded the Scot. “He made us a better side, that’s for sure.

“I decided a few weeks ago to rest Shaun Maloney for the Hibs game and Naka for the Rangers game, but the championship is won.”

CELTIC: Boruc, Telfer, Varga, McManus, Wilson, Petrov, Lennon, Keane (Nakamura 61), Maloney (McGeady 81), Zurawski, Hartson (Dublin 84).

RANGERS: Waterreus, Hutton, Kyrgiakos, Rodriguez, Smith, Burke (Ashikodi 90), Gavin Rae, Hemdani, Buffel, Prso, Kris Boyd (Novo 70).

Referee: C Thomson.