Numan international retirement 'will boost Rangers'

Rangers manager Alex McLeish believes Arthur Numan’s decision to retire from international duty will benefit the Ibrox side.

Numan broke the news personally to Holland head coach Dick Advocaat - who is also director of football at Rangers - and the Dutch football association announced his decision earlier today.

The defender played under Advocaat at Haarlem and PSV Eindhoven, as well as Rangers, and earned 45 international caps during that time.

But Numan - who will decide early next year whether to extend his contract at Rangers for another year - says he decided to quit international football in order to concentrate playing at club level.

McLeish believes the decision can only help Rangers in their quest to wrest the league title from Celtic this season.

"I believe it is a bonus for Rangers," said McLeish. "Arthur has had a great international career and it must be difficult to know when to call it a day.

"I’m sure that Arthur could still have played for Holland because they do not have an embarrassment of riches in that position."

McLeish revealed Advocaat was supportive of Numan’s decision and believes the Dutch boss will already have replacements in mind to fill the left-back role.

He added: "He has been behind Arthur’s decision and there is an opportunity there for other players.

"I hope it’s not to the detriment of Holland but Dick must have others in mind."

Despite kicking off their own league campaign last week, Rangers play host to Leeds on Wednesday as the Premiership side’s pre-season campaign continues.

The Ibrox side were forced to settle for a draw against Kilmarnock on Saturday but McLeish insists he will not settle for anything less than a win against Leeds.

He said: "They are one of the top English sides and there will be a touch of the Scottish-English thing so I expect it to be very competitive.

"I’m looking for some of the players to get extra match fitness but I also want a result. I want them to get in there, battle and get the victory."

McLeish revealed those players who failed to make the starting line-up on Saturday could play a key role against Terry Venables’ men tomorrow night.

He added: "I’ll bring in some of the others for the game.

"In the first game of the season, one or two of the players were a bit short of full sharpness but some players take longer to get going than others.

"I’d certainly like to freshen it up so many of those left out on Saturday could be key players against Leeds."