Gary McAllister knows what it takes to win in football, never mind just with Rangers.
The former Scotland international captain is one of the country’s most notable footballers and lifted the old First Division title with Leeds United in 1992.
It would then be 29 long years before Gary McAllister would get his hands on another championship-winning medal, with the ex-Rangers assistant delivering 55 alongside Steven Gerrard in 2021.
Now, Gary Mac has been speaking to Sky Sports about Rangers’ title hopes this season with the club’s treble charge just about alive and kicking.
And whilst McAllister believes a domestic cup double would prove Rangers are moving in the right direction under manager Philippe Clement, ‘deep-down’ he reckons a failure to lift the Scottish Premiership would be a scarring disappointment.
McAllister claims ‘deep down’ Rangers want title
As Rangers booked their Scottish Cup Final place over the weekend, the Ibrox side are very much in the hunt for all three domestic prizes this season.
Having lifted the League Cup in December, Rangers are three points off Celtic in the Scottish Premiership with five games to play.
The Gers will also face their bitter rivals in the first Scottish Cup Old Firm Final in 22 years.
Whilst a domestic double is also a distinct possibility, Gary McAllister reckons that ‘deep down’ Philippe Clement and everyone at Ibrox will want the Scottish Premiership crown.
“I think the barometer is always the league,” said McAllister. “Winning trophies is really, really difficult, even for the big clubs.
“When you win a trophy it’s always a good thing but I think the big clubs are always judged on league titles.
“There’s something about winning the league. It’s just up another level.”
When asked about a domestic cup double showing signs of progress under Clement, McAllister responded: “I think so, but deep down everybody behind this scenes, the players, the management staff, the owners, the chief execs and the chairman and stuff, they’ll still be chasing winning the league.
“It brings back memories of when Steven and I and the team came up from south of the border to take over.
“We were quite a bit behind Celtic so we were given a bit of time but winning that league was very key.
“We didn’t have any great success in the cups but getting that title was the big thing.”
Philippe Clement’s team set Premiership challenge
It’s hard to argue with anything Gary McAllister has said here.
Rangers might well be on course for a domestic cup double but adding that Premiership crown to potentially complete a treble is a challenging prospect.
The Gers slipped up on a disastrous five game Scottish Premiership run which has surrendered the title advantage to Celtic.
It’s a situation which has Rangers big underdogs to come back in the final five games but stranger things have certainly happened in football.
Rangers manager Philippe Clement has challenged his team to do what’s never been done before and win every game of the Scottish Premiership split.
It’s a challenge which might need to be met to wrestle the Scottish Premiership from Celtic.
Even with a double cup win, Gary McAllister reckons that the season will be tinged with disappointment if Philippe Clement’s team fail to do so.
