His former Rangers teammate Mark Hately is quite in tune with McCoist, believing the O’Riley transfer “could be big”, he said when asked whether Rangers will catch up with Celtic this season.
“Well, to put in in no uncertain terms, there is a gap there. They are a pretty cash-rich club at the moment, and we all know what cash is in the game of football. It wins you trophies. I think Celtic have got a pretty stable side right now. They've got a group of players that have been playing together for a while now as well,” Hateley told Tribalfootball in an exclusive conversation ahead of the next Old Firm clash.
“They're comfortable with themselves and I think they have a manager who will probably slot in a couple of players before the window to make them even stronger. Probably not to make the numbers up, but to make the starting eleven even stronger. That's where we are right now,” Hately continued before looking at current Rangers-topscorer Cyril Dessers. The Nigerian has faced a fair bit of criticism from the Rangers faithful, but Hateley believes he’s been misunderstood.
“Dessers' always worked hard for the team. He works hard as a European nine. A European nine and a British nine is totally different. A European nine will play between the two centre-halves. He will always peel off the inside, not round the outside, into a full-back position.
“And you have to have an understanding with a midfield where one has to go and support, one has to go beyond. And that's what we're learning at the moment. I think Cyril can get frustrated because of the lack of support, if you want. These are the sort of things Philippe Clement is referring when talking about the project.
"He's got to work on with these younger players. And that is not probably going to take one window or two windows. It's going to be three or four windows. Hence, I think, why the board has extended his contract. I can see where we need to be. But we're a long way from that," Hateley believes.
Same old rubbish!
Hateley played a big part in a side that won the Scottish title six times on the bounce during his initial stint at Ibrox and claims it gets harder and harder each season. Not least living up to the expectation of the fans.
“I’ll tell you a great anecdote which Archie Knox told me. Rangers had won nine titles on the trot and were aiming for the record-breaking number 10. In the first game of the season, they were getting beat 1-0, and a guy standing behind the Archie tapped on the back of the dugout; 'it's the same old f**** rubbish you're playing'. That's the pressure.
“It gets tougher and tougher and tougher as you're getting the miles under your belt. The demands you put on your body to reach that height mentally and physically is an incredible weight. But top players put themselves under pressure week in, week out, whatever they're doing, trying to be better than they were the game before.”
With that in mind, can we expect Manchester City to make it five in a row in the Premier League?
“They've got a manager who has the fortitude of having some great players. Rodri, for me, is an unbelievable player who has been the kingpin of most things. I think bringing back Gündogan is a masterstroke, so it wouldn't surprise me to see them winning again. They've got about 30+ world-class players that they can call on.”
One of them is called Erling Haaland who is perhaps as close to a perfect striker as you’ll these days, or how does a former centre-forward look upon the Norwegian?
“He's a beast. I think he's more like the old-fashioned centre-forward a similar sort of player to me. Physical, good in the air, runs behind, likes to run behind a lot and uses his physical attributes, his strength, very, very well. He scores all sorts of goals; his return of goals is phenomenal. If he stays healthy, he'll break every record that there is.”
- Mark Hateley was speaking to Tribalfootball on behalf of Online Slots Real Money