Weir 'honoured' by captaincy

David Weir will relish his new role as Rangers captain – but wishes Barry Ferguson was still wearing the armband.

The veteran defender has been told he will skipper the team until the end of the season after Ferguson was stripped of the captaincy.

Both Ferguson and goalkeeper Allan McGregor have been suspended for two weeks without pay after being sent home from training and later summoned to a meeting with chief executive Martin Bain.

The pair were involved in a lengthy drinking session at Scotland’s team hotel upon their return from Holland at the weekend.

But it was alleged V-signs they made while sitting on the bench at Hampden on Wednesday which prompted the club to take action.

Weir has already deputised for Ferguson when the midfielder was injured and said of the role: “I enjoy it. It’s an honour to play for Rangers, far less captain Rangers.

“It’s great, although obviously I would rather Barry was here being captain.

“I’ve filled in for him in the past and I’ve been more than happy to do that.

“But, to be honest, I would rather Barry was the captain.”

Both players have been dropped for Sunday’s game at Falkirk and a question mark now hangs over their Rangers futures, having already been told they will not represent Scotland again.

Weir admits the dramatic events could have an impact on the title race, with Rangers already trailing Celtic by three points ahead of the weekend action.

“There is a danger, of course,” he said.

“But who’s to say it will affect us in a positive way or a negative way?

“That’s up to us. That’s all we can do as players. We can go out and say it’s an excuse for us to lose at the weekend or we can go out and say it will make us stronger.

“We are missing two of our best players so people will expect us to drop points.

“Do we go out and do that or do we show that the lads who come in are capable of doing a job?

“Once the dust settles and we start looking towards the game, we have to look at the situation and the issues and try to get a positive out of it.”

Weir insists mental strength is now crucial for Rangers.

“Of course it is,” he said. “We have to be positive about this. We can’t hide from this.

“When you play for Rangers and you win football games, everything is all right. When you don’t win games, there is a problem.”