Bierhoff considered 'Gers switch

Former AC Milan star Oliver Bierhoff has revealed how he could have ended his career at Rangers.

The German striker admits he was sounded out about joining the Ibrox side in the summer but no official approach was made and he opted to hang up his boots instead.

He told the Rangers News: “I definitely heard some noises in the summer that Rangers were interested in signing me but no-one from the club made any official contact.

“Who wouldn‘t want to play for a team like Rangers? They are a great club and there is a terrific atmosphere at Ibrox.

“The Scottish league might not be as strong as the Italian or Spanish but it would have been very interesting to play for the Ibrox fans.

“I know how passionate they are for their team and I think it would have been great to play in that kind of environment.”

Meanwhile Rangers boss Alex McLeish has urged the critics to stop giving his players a hard time.

The Ibrox side are trailing bitter rivals Celtic in the league and were eliminated from the Champions League last week but McLeish insists his side deserves praise – even though their only chance of European football now depends on securing a place in the UEFA Cup.

He said: “I have to reiterate that far from being a negative situation I think there are a lot of positives.

“We qualified for the Champions League against the odds, considering a big chunk of the team left in the summer and new players came in – some of whom have settled really well and some haven‘t.

“We have suffered terrible injuries to key men and are five points off the pace in the league.

“I think we deserve credit for that rather than criticism.”