Patience pays off for McGregor as Le Guen confirms choice

PAUL Le Guen yesterday indicated a willingness to learn from his mistakes in his efforts to turn around Rangers' fortunes when he promoted Allan McGregor to the top of the club's goalkeeping hierarchy.

Despite Lionel Letizi having fully recovered from the back injury which forced him to pull out of the UEFA Cup tie against Maccabi Haifa at Ibrox two weeks ago, McGregor will hold on to the No 1 position for tomorrow's Bank of Scotland Premierleague fixture against Hearts at Tynecastle.

When McGregor stepped in to replace Letizi earlier this season, with the French goalkeeper sidelined by a calf injury, his outstanding performances earned him the SPL player of the month award for September but did not spare him being dropped by Le Guen as soon as his compatriot was fit.

The Rangers manager paid a heavy price for his controversial decision, Letizi's blunder in his comeback game gifting Inverness Caledonian Thistle the only goal at Ibrox.

Signed on a free transfer from Paris St Germain by Le Guen during the summer, Letizi has managed just one clean sheet in his eight appearances for Rangers so far, while McGregor has kept seven clean sheets in 12 games.

It now appears that McGregor, who last month signed a new contract at Rangers, has finally done enough to convince Le Guen that he deserves to be regarded as the club's current first choice goalkeeper.

"Lionel is physically ready to play, but he won't be selected on Sunday," confirmed Le Guen. "I think we need stability in the present circumstances, so Allan will play. The circumstances are different (this time) and I think it is better for the team that Allan carries on. That's why I decided to make this choice. It's up to Lionel to win his place back."

Le Guen yesterday highlighted McGregor as one of the young Scottish players he hopes will form the core of a successful Rangers side under his guidance. He refused to be drawn, however, on reports that he would like to add the youthful Hibernian duo of Kevin Thomson and Scott Brown to his roster in the January transfer window.

"I don't want to speak about them," was Le Guen's curt response. "My priority is to speak about Sunday's game."

He was more forthcoming on speculation surrounding the future of Rangers winger Chris Burke who is out of contract at the end of the season and has currently called a halt to negotiations on a new deal.

"I remain hopeful Chris will stay," said Le Guen. "I think he likes Rangers and it is not ended. I hope he will opt for Rangers. I believe this is the best place for him to be for the next few years, but it is up to him to choose.

"It would be good for him to stay and good for us. We can have a good squad with Charlie Adam, Allan McGregor, Steven Smith, Alan Hutton and Chris. Young, Scottish players together, and with a good team bonding between them, we could improve and get a very good team." Le Guen has enjoyed a week free of scrutiny, courtesy of the latest developments which have engulfed Hearts and monopolised the attention of the media.

Asked if he believed the continuing uncertainty at the Gorgie club would be an advantage for Rangers tomorrow, he said: "I don't know, we will see. I don't want to speak about their problems, I have problems here.

"I know the Hearts team could change again on Sunday, but the priority for me is to worry about our strengths and way of playing."

Czech winger Libor Sionko is set to return for Rangers tomorrow after an eight-match injury absence, while Le Guen also revealed former Hibs captain Ian Murray could make his comeback in a reserve game next week as he continues his recovery from the viral complaint which has sidelined him since pre-season.

Meanwhile, Manchester United winger Lee Martin is convinced he can still be a hit at Ibrox after admitting he has failed to make the most of his loan spell at Rangers.

The 19-year-old arrived at the start of the season full of promises that he would excite the fans and prove to be an asset to Le Guen.

He has shown flashes of ability but a loss of form and six weeks on the sidelines with a knee injury means Martin has not quite had the impact he had hoped for.

"I feel a bit disappointed in terms of my performances," he said.

"I don't feel that I've shown my true capabilities. There's more to come from myself on the pitch."

He added: "I'm quite hard on myself. I like to do well and, when I don't do well, I punish myself. I haven't been up to my usual standards, I know that, but it's going to take a bit of time.

"I've just come back from a six-week injury and, even though I'm feeling fit, I'm not match-fit. That's going to take another couple of games but after that I won't have any excuses."

Martin is set to return to Old Trafford in January but has refused to rule out the possibility of extending his loan deal until the end of the season.

"I'd like to stay," he said. "I'm quite happy here but it's not down to me at the end of the day. It's between both sets of managers."

Taken from the Scotsman